Not only investing books, but also psychology, philosophy and any other self improvement books.- Listen to the BiggerPockets podcasts- Attend your local real estate investment meetupsDo all of this consistently, and I guarantee by the time you graduate you will be well prepared to start your investment journey.

The tenant I had with CSL caused $10,000 in damage in 3 months (I found the psychology of this interesting despite the damage to the home) and CSL didn't and wouldn't help at all.

The issue is psychological, not financial.

Psychology and group dynamics play a big role in why some people have a "middle class" mindset. 

The very ugliest part of a sheriff sale is seeing a former owner,  half-mad with the overwhelming psychological trauma of losing their home, trying to beg a bank's lawyer to just give them another chance to pay, or disrupting the proceedings to protest the house being brought to auction.The investors hate the lookie-lookies.

Anecdote: psychologically, sellers are now much more prepared for the weak demand and weak offers than they were last year.

But human psychology doesn't change easily :-)To hammer it home... some of the most effective websites in their industries are also some pretty darn cluttered sites.

We know its all the same money going out the door each month for the tenants, but psychologically it really provides a competitive edge and makes sure they all have insurance.

Psychology and sociology is paramount in this aspect. 3- The business of the business: This is things such as regulatory actions, licensures, the constant changing of such, how to navigate, contracts, documentations, process's and systems, etc etc.. 

A lot of the replies to this post have gotten way off topic but I will share my 2 cents:The psychology behind working for a commission is that there is incentive for the realtors on both sides of a transaction to get a deal done.