I'm also rebuilding a little 50cc ATV with the kids to attempt to teach them some mechanical skills and the final parts came in last week.I welcome any advice any locals would have and am excited to be a part of the BP Family.

To overcome the funds issue, you can partner up with other investors and split the work based on each person's skills set.Best of luck!

I have been reading and listening to the podcast religiously every day and also trying to practice analyzing deals to prepare for finding my next property.I know this is the most important skill to hone to become an effective investor and I fully understand the process.

My third thought was how this conversation would go.I'd like to think that the skills I have would be useful in real estate, but at the same time, getting a Ph.D. made me vividly aware of how little I know about the world. 

I work for an organization in San Jose, California that trains young people in job skills and along with that they complete their GED requirements. 

New build in Midwest is about $150 sqft if you can even find a skilled contractor to do the work, key word here is skilled.

What I'm looking to do since I am a bit shy to finding an organic mentor is to kinda do what was suggested in Rich Dad Poor Dad when Rich dad said for Robert to play golf because eventually Robert would end up doing it some day and the best time to begin building his skills was when he was young. 

This is a grand opportunity to drive the price down with the seller if you're buying with the right fixit-man skill set -- you're not.If you do this, you're making a major commitment, the kind of thing so far out of a typical hands-off investor's comfort zone that it will take her/him into a danger zone.

If so, having a manager who is skilled with "war zone" rentals will be very important.

Go pay someone who can take a holistic look at your goals and skill set to help you develop a plan for you to reach them.