I am not saying that to brag, the reason I say it is we all wish we could get into real estate at a younger age - but we are all different and depending on your level of risk, sometimes being patient is not a bad thing as its a marathon not a sprint.  

Quote from @Gregory Wilson: This depends on what level of control you can exercise over the W-2 employer.

I'm in a different area, but I just paid a plumber ~$200 an hour to do some work....clearly I am in the wrong profession, but I know equipment and skills are needed. 

So there are many more participants at the novice level who may not understand the risk/reward nature of this type of investment. 

At the end of the day, assuming the market at a high-level is strong, you must be able to trust in a strong, local team. 

Either the toilet is leaking below the floor level or there is degraded caulk/grout surrounding the tub/shower/walls.

They need to fail and learn at a small dollar level.  

So great levels of intelligence it does not take. 

I was a foster child who put myself through college on my own, and I have relied on some good friends for a place to stay as I grew up, which has motivated me to create a better life for myself.I have done a lot of research on real estate, and from my perspective, it seems as if wholesaling, which I feel my sales skills may help with, would be a good place to start to make some extra money to speed up the investing process.

Its always best to review your file with an investor friendly mortgage broker like ourselves to see what are your best options in terms of financing your next deal and get a high level understanding on how to enter a property and also exit a property.