Advice on choosing the right path to become a syndicator

[Timothy Street]

Hi BP!  I am coming to you for advice.  About a month and a half ago I was talking to one of my old buddies from the Marines and he was telling me about his new life as a Real Estate Investor doing primarily single family flips.  Flips are not exactly my cup of tea, but it did spark something inside me.  It began a voracious consumption of all things real estate investing.  

I now know what I envision at the end of my path - a respectable multi family portfolio that provides passive income that will secure the financial future for myself and which can be used as an educational tool to introduce my two young daughters into the concept of entrepreneurship around real estate.  The end of my path is easy for me to envision, but the first step is proving the most difficult to decipher of them all.  

As a result of all of the knowledge gleaned from books, audiobooks, forums, podcasts, and YouTube, I feel I know enough to not quite be dangerous, but instead I’d classify myself is ‘slightly-menacing’  :-)

A common theme has arisen from every single successful person I’ve read about, watched or heard in the syndication space and that’s a regret they have about going it alone at first and figuring it out themselves.  Almost all of them say if they were to do it over again, they’d have paid a mentor to get them over the line faster so they’d be even further down their path today.

I have joined my local Real Estate Investor’s Club in Orlando and I look forward to spending time with those good people but until I can get in good with them, I figured I’d ask this here.

I have no problem investing in my education. I do, however, have a rather large problem being the fool who is soon parted with his money. I guess that’s why I’m asking you folks. I’m not asking you what I should do, I’m not that naive to assume you discern that for me. I guess I’m asking the folks who are there today where I’d like to be in the future - would you spend the money and mentor-up with a pro? Or do you feel like you’re the success you are today because the school of hard knocks is a good teacher?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts BP, I value your feedback.  

Regards, 

Tim Street