Also, make sure to start connecting with other investors in your market to build relationships and learn from their experiences

Those with little to no experience should have even larger amounts of reserves in place before they purchase real estate. 

Your first investment will be a huge learning experience.

I have experience in single family fix and flip, 1-4 family rentals, small apartments (10-30 unit), 100+ unit apartments, development, commercial retail, industrial and office.

I'm a pretty handy guy but this would be outside of my realm, but my experience helps me understand how much this type of improvement should cost.Improvements: remodel kitchen and bathroom, paint interior, fix exterior scafolding.How should I go about finding a contractor?

Your experience reminds me to manage the portfolio well (i.e. sell losers) and to be patient. 

If so, I’d love to hear about your experience!

Loan officers with 25 years of experience typically are more experienced, and have less time per file, because they have an abundance of files.Loan officers with 25 months of experience typically are less experienced, but have more time to devote to you.I can't write my own loans, so when I'm getting a loan I prefer working with less busy people when I'm doing my own real estate investment, they're more responsive and dedicated it feels like.

I have experience with both RG&E and NYSEG.

In the pitch I include just a couple of my projects from the last year as a reference to my experience.