Educate for how long before jumping in on the first property?

[Chad Burkett]

Hi all, 

I am a young professional in Pittsburgh looking to put my money to work.  I have some money saved but would feel more confident in getting started investing during the next year or two of my saving plan due to my lack of knowledge with regards to different fees etc that require some financial buffering especially when you're a new investor.  I wanted to get some opinions on how long to educate myself in the market and what are the best ways (especially now during financial distancing) to get involved in my market and start learning some of the ins and outs of investing besides books, podcasts etc which I am already diving into.  I would like to capitalize on the possible upcoming market opportunities that may come from the pandemic downturn but want to maximize my education prior to that.  I suppose my real issue is what could I do to ready myself for that first purchase if the great deals start to line up sooner than my savings are ready?   Thanks in advance.