Paranoid about starting out, heres my Dilemma

[John Lopes]

well firstly let me introduce myself, My names John I am from Ontario, Canada, and im 18, I work for a decent company and make a decent wage, and have been for 2 years, I have saved up quite a bit if liquidy (40 000$) mostly because I have very few responsibilities, bills etc.

I have been reading alot on real estate investing, hearing about it and just seeing it, as it is all around me as my mother lives in a developing area and my father lives on a street where 95 % of the people there have their houses rented.

I have been wanting to get into real estate for quite some time now but it seems im a little nervous to break the ice, I dont know where to start, from what ive read theres a couple of ways people capitalize with real estate, being, buying a house and repairing or doing modifications to increase the value while spending minimal funds, theres buying hosues in developing areas and hoping that as the location matures so will the value of your home then selling it, then theres buying a house making it into apartments and renting it out.

I have explored all these options and still dont know where id want to start, when it comes to modifying homes, I dont got many, or any skills infact that can help me with that, when it comes to renters, I have heard many stories of them not wanting to pay, and the landlord going through a hardtime to get them out or get their money, or even both, and lastly with buying homes in developing areas, and this sort of covers all 3 of the topics I covered, all I hear these days is how bad the market is and how we may go into a recession, the reason this rumour worries me is because I know my parents were affected by the last one in the late 1980s n early 1990s, and I dont want to suffer the same fate. On the other hand, I could get great renters, and the houses can double in value.

As you can see im a lost soul, any tips, comments, questions or any guidance is really appreciated.

-John