After talking with my mentor (He's a realtor with 20+ years experience) he suggested purchasing a rental property first.

But it also is a money pit if you don’t have the experience.  

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.

At the very least you will want to have some general foundations set because with time you will modify processes and the learnings via experience you gain.

@Tru Verret Fleming What was your experience? 

Does anyone have any positive or negative experiences?

Experiences will vary significantly based upon location.

Does anyone hear have any experience with either of these companies? 

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.

Even though we live in earthquake country, this was a new experience for us.