Newbie Capital District, NY

[Jacob Krusienski]

My name is Jacob. I've read about real estate investing for sometime now. For some reason now seems to be the right time to "take the leap". Do I purchase CD's? But into a guru? I'm curious if there any groups in the Capital District of New York that I can become involved with. I'm hesitant to say "Upstate NY" because there are many definitions of "Upstate NY". I'm in just north of Albany and just south of Saratoga Springs. I would like to learn my area before I branch out. Does anyone have any suggestions on getting started?