Don't be shy in asking questions on the forums and catching up on blogs and podcasts.

I am reviewing the blogs on BiggerPockets  and between the podcast and the blogs it's giving me the knowledge and courage to do what I'm about to do .

Use the search feature in the upper right hand corner and read some blogs and forum posts on the topic to ramp up your education.

Here's an article about it: BiggerPockets Coverdell Blog Post

In terms of crowdfunding, the only one I've invested with is rather unusual and I wrote in a BP blog about my investment experience with them after my first investment - I have since made several more.  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8070/51749-the...Starting out?  

Make sure to check out the Bigger Pockets Blog: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/

Hey BP Community,I am new to this site and I haven’t invested in real estate yet.I’ve been spending a lot of time educating myself (reading books, listening to podcasts, reading blogs, etc).

Here’s a few sources referencing that method (http://www.jwbrealestatecapital.com/how-much-rental-income-to-holdback-for-maintenance-and-repairs/, http://www.zillow.com/blog/investing-101-estimating-rental-property-expenses-94824/, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/much-should-landlord-allocate-monthly-maintenance-repairs-80019.html, http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/05/29/look-at-maintenance-costs-before-leaping-into-homeownership). 

Here there are plenty of resources such as blog and forum posts, podcasts etc.