Looking for advice on how to find a mentor in real estate

[Jason Kamora]

Hello BiggerPockets family,

This is my first post ever with this amazing community of knowledgeable investors and I hope to someday be able to give back to all that I have learned from all of you.

If I may take a moment to introduce myself and perhaps paint a picture of my skills and understanding, this may help in answering a few of the questions I have for all of you. 

I am a medically retired Veteran who is looking to make real estate investing my way to build a future for myself and my family. I currently reside in Pennsylvania and am doing much of my investment searching in my local area in the Northeast and central part of the state as I am very familiar with these areas. 

As a rookie investor, meaning I have currently only own one property, I am looking for a mentor that can help me to bounce ideas off of and to put what I am learning into play more quickly and effectively as I am in a very competitive market. I am a true rookie as I only have about 14 months of education and knowledge through my reading of several books, the biggerpockets podcast, and the great forums. 

I have been very fortunate to find a great property management company and realtor that are working with me and have been very helpful but as a new investor, I struggle to formulate creative ways to close the deals I come across.  

As far as what I have done to find a mentor. Honestly, not much as I am a little intimidated with the process and how to approach someone since I don't have much to offer to them other than my time and willingness to work hard and hustle. 

Just recently I have been attending a few virtual meet up groups with other investors in my area but at those events I find myself being very lost and overwhelmed by the conversations so it's hard to contribute much to them at present. I am looking for a few in-person in my area but nothing to date. 

I am curious to know how others approached finding a mentor or mentor/partnership and what successes you have found. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated as I have no ego and realize I am new and a forever student.   

Regards, 

Jason