I feel like being an owner-occupant would be a good way to get started in this venture. 

You probably are looking at some type of joint venture arrangement where you find the deal and take it to the investor.

Straight to the point:  who do you feel is the most important team member to first establish a relationship with in an out of state investing venture? 

Nothing ventured nothing gained.

It was my first venture in using contractors. 

Depends if you are working with joint venture partners or not.

Anyway, kind of a scattershot intro, but figured I should at least introduce myself after lurking around for a while and having finally starting to venture out into possibly purchasing something other than my primary residence here in SoCal =)Jake

Very interested in venturing into shipping container self storage.

What rate of return could you earn on the leveraged funds, and how risky is the venture that would be dedicated to.

Hi everyone, I just joined and wanted to say how amazing this community is; anyone can see that, even from browsing the discussions.As of now I have not ventured into the investment side of real estate, mostly because of a lack of capital to get started, but will be checking out all the tips and tricks to get that foot in the door.