Please share the steps of your first deal

[Shion Queen]

I'm learning that REI is a very unique process and no one has the same order of operation or recipe to start.

Can anyone that has closed a deal be kind enough to recap the steps of their first deal?

What was your first step? Who did you contact first? What site(s) helped the most? Did you search for months for properties and use a deal analyzer and send it to a HML? Where did you find the property? What was a memorable accomplishment and mistake during the process?