Good morning Bigger Pockets community from Ohio,

My name is Eric, I'm 34, and ready to begin my real estate investing career. I'm happily married, have three lovely little children, and two big mastiffs. I've spent the last several months reading, researching, and watching podcasts to gain as much information as I can to begin this journey. I have now saved up around $15k and have an additional $10k in equity with my current residence right now. I'm interested in learning how to best utilize those amounts to start investing. My main goal with real estate is to be able to spend more time with the family as I currently work 40+ hours a week at my full time job.

I look forward to making connections and gaining more knowledge as I continue forward. My only apprehension is using a bank to get started. I only have the house, my car, and a credit card on my credit but my credit score to a hit earlier this year. I like the idea of owner financing or HML's but I haven't gained enough confidence in either to make the final push. I'm wondering if anyone can lend some insight about this topic or maybe some advice or even a better path to continue on?

I look forward to making new connections and learning as much as I can about real estate investing. 

Thanks for your time,

Eric