Complete newbie with real estate investing.

[Anthony Van Gilder]

Hello everyone! I recently was turned on to the bigger pockets podcast and I'm loving it. The content is great here and very informative. I'm at a point in my life now where I can start investing in real estate and want to get started. Does anyone know of any meetups in the San Fransisco Bay Area? Preferably in the East Bay. I'm looking to meet with people with similar mindsets and investment goals so I can start learning the business a little better. What do you look for when researching new markets? So far I've been looking in Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and Alabama. I still have not decided on small multifamily homes or single family. I heard that you need 25% down for multifamily homes, is this true?

I look forward to networking with the people here in the bigger pocket community! Please respond with questions or suggestions. I'm open to any feedback and ready to learn.