Like you I've attended a few free seminars, which are merely thinly disguised sales pitches.

You have come to the right place to begin your investing journey.Have you looked into attending local meetings and joining Facebook groups?

I recently started attending local real estate meetups, which I found on the Meetup app.

When the lender brought up the issue, he just said that he needed more backyard space for his kid and it was a non-event.

Check the in person events and meetups in your local area, our online community is full of knowledge and folks willing to share and still nothing replaces the opportunity to interact IRL, you never know who you will meet and where that can take you on your REI journey. 

I can share with you some that I am attending if you're interested.Good luck! 

Our city has a really active networking community, look out for local events via google or other FB groups.

I dont know this fund but I do know Scott and have been to some of his training events and met many folks who took his training and a few of them I have followed over the years and they have built monstor business's  really something..

Start attending any & all local REI meetings.

I'd recommend starting with a solid market analysis to find an area with high rental demand—look at vacation spots or areas with events that draw consistent visitors.