how much would you save? how long? advice!

[Jonathan Beemer]

Hi BP,
im in the military and am a lower enlisted soldier, so my pay is not the greatest, but i do make the most out of what i get. i save every dollar other than the minimal bills i have. which the money i do save is not a huge amount. so it is taking a while to build up my investment money.

with that being said: how much would you save to invest in RE?
also, how long would you wait for that money to come?
any advice on how to get a head start with the money i do have? ( i plan on partnering with experienced people, as soon as im able too)

im a man of action. But i also believe in being prepared. right now im building my knowledge on every aspect of RE. finding which niche i want to start off with (so far buy and holds, second option would be flips). what other advice would you say to build on at a personal level?

thank you!

[Eric P.]

I am extremely risk adverse.  I'd much rather have a good night sleep then make an extra buck.  My wife and I are also getting ready to jump into real estate investing.  We plan on having around $40,000 to purchase a home somewhere around $125k-$140k without needing much more than $1,000-$2,000 worth of work.   We figure that will give us enough for 20% down, 6 month emergency fund, and around $7,000 left over during the purchase for any surprises.