Besides reading and listening to podcasts, my wife and I attend a local real estate investor meetup that has been extremely beneficial. 

Hello BP Community,I have  been a BP lurker for many years and after falling out of love with retail real estate- I am oh so READY to get into investing (my first true love).

Hi @Michael Goddard what are your real estate goals?

Investor-focused stats on the Sarasota and Manatee County real estate market.- How much of a buyer market are we in?

.- at year 7 if value appreciated a lot, can i do a HELOC on it and use that HELOC to pay off the balloon - probably not due to lien being secondary etc on helocYes on the HELOC, but it would probably be easier just to refi and pay off the seller, and cash out more money too.Hope that helps and good luck!

I'm still new to real estate investing but I'm open to feedback  @Jade FrankIt really depends on your long-term goals.

I didn't have enough space in the Title:Novations where the investor uses a Limited Listing that puts them as the primary contact for scheduling showings, receiving/accepting offers and negotiating are brokering without a license.Novations where the investor actually hires a real estate broker to handle the aforementioned for the seller are not included. 

I've done a few dozen flips, a couple spec builds, bought and sold 3 short term rentals, bought and sold 2 long term rentals, and bought and sold a few commercial deals.I love what I do but the lately I've been craving adding something else to my plate that is more service based (but still related to real estate).

If it cannot do that, it's likely to make little to no money in the first year or two.

I am not from real estate background and have been referred to bigger pockets by friends.