Beginner: Looking for advice

[Joshua Goston]

Hello all, I'm new to the community. I'm a lobsterfisherman and entrepreneur from Maine. I have had some success investing in long and short term stocks but I'm looking to get into something that peaks my interest a little more. If all goes as planned I should clear my debt from my fishing business this season and have some money left over to invest with. My ultimate goal is to get out of the fishing industry within the next few years by owning rental properties. I want to start with 2-4 plexes as to not jump into commercial loans right out of the gate, and as I move up the learning curve, invest in commercial properties with more units. I just have a few questions to start. When taking out a loan for rental properties is it still called a mortgage? and if so is it typically the 30 year financing? Furthermore, will banks let me do this for multiple properties at a time, or would you recommend I have a property completely paid off before investing in another? If anybody could write a list of terminology I should know I would really appreciate, also some book recommendations would be great. I'm a beginner but I also would like the reading to be pretty in depth. If there is any advice anybody would like to give to a beginner investor it would be really appreciated! Thank you to all who respond, I appreciate you taking the time!