@Matthew Rembish
Start with education and networking. You will always get different answers on what a newbie should do because there are so many strategies and niches to try. Take the time to get your understanding of the basics down (land lording, flipping, wholesaling etc) then decide which path best fits you and your lifestyle. Once you can get past the noise in your head and are no longer distracted by every new shiny investing widget, you'll be able to focus on the in depth details of investing that will allow a person with limited funds to take action.
For instance if flips are what you want to do, that's great. Your question now becomes how does one with limited funds get into flips? Well, do you understand all that goes into a flip? Do you know how to find a good flip property? Do you know the numbers in the market you are targeting? Do you know how to get that property under control once you find it? Do you know how to estimate rehab costs? Have you networked with REIA members who might be able to partner with you and make that deal work? Do you have names and numbers of equity based hard money lenders who don't care how much money you have, just care how much equity is in the deal?
I'm not saying you have to be a master of these topics before you get started. But I am saying that the more time you spend researching and talking about them the more you will see that you have options and you can be successful - even with limited funds.
By the way - sounds like you need to get Brandon Turner and J Scott's books.
