However, they also come with a significant upfront investment.Before I commit to anything, I’d love to hear from those with experience:Are these programs worth the investment?

I have a commitment to invest in rental properties, meet professionals  & eventually meet potential business partners!

In short, having all the conversations and commitments in strategy, setting up LLC and all the fun docs of who's doing what, and I'd suggest even getting initial funding into account for at least EM. 

I agree that is will be a gamble as to how well it will do.Also, ask the owner if they will entertain partial owner financing to keep from dragging family and friends into this risky business venture.Maybe even rent from owner for a year with right to sublease to see how it goes before committing to a purchase.

We all know 'housing affordability' is one of the hottest political topics as of late but I'm not seeing any commitments to increase inventory. 

At 23, your unfair advantage is time that is not constrained by collecting commitments of a family.

This means you’ll have direct access to experts who truly understand your needs and are ready to assist you whenever you need help.What really sets Equity Trust apart is their commitment to personalized service, ensuring that BiggerPockets members have the resources and guidance they need every step of the way.

The advantage of Reg D over relying on the general exemption is (1) if you comply the SEC can’t come back and say you should have registered and (2) if your sued by a disgruntled investor you have a definitive defense, which means an attorney is unlikely to take an investors case on a contingency basis - unless fraud was committed.  

The mental gymnastics I'm going through is how exactly that would work without committing fraud.

I’m also glad the FCC is cracking down on robocalls for lead generation; it forces people to commit to real prospecting instead of cutting corners.Over the years, I’ve run a solid brokerage team, training agents and now I help people get into wholesaling.