Way to keep on trucking and stay persistent! 

Patience and persistence pays off Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Been in real estate for almost 1 year and working with several investors I was fascinated by the entire process and have mad respect for people in this industry for their drive, knowledge and persistence.

I like @Adam Schneider, @Chris Martin, and @BJ Henderson 's remarks.The bottom line is that your question is too broad to answer, as there are way too many unstated variables.But if I were to make some assumptions about your question, my own couple of pennies is that if you're smart, driven and persistent (and probably a few other choice adjectives), a beginning investor has a chance of making it work in the Raleigh market.

I just get nervous when I see the numbers but I imagine with such low inventory and interest rates we are not going to see a large persistent price drop any time soon even if foreclosures flood the market later in the year.I am going to keep some cash in reserves and start reading up on investing in foreclosures in case this does come to fruition. 

Persistence pays off however and we are closing on one on the 31st.

But we are very capable of making anything work with persistence and hard work.

Being only 19, I'm almost positive I can turn heads at these meetings and make connections instantly, being young, ambitious, and persistent, I'm sure someone will be willing to mentor me. 

Whether you make calls,  put out doorhangers, bandit sign etc. ..Ive learned that the key is persistence, and consistency and track your results to enhance them.

Always remember to persist and you will WIN!!!