@Sabrina Mead these aren't so much real estate or business, but these have helped me immensely over the years with mindset, etc."

Doing a high-quality maintenance job by myself for a fraction of what I know I would have to pay a local tradesman (whom I am also sure would do an inferior job, sometimes an unsound job, as a matter of course to maximize his profit and minimize his time expenditure) also gives me immense satisfaction.Finally, I live in a city where outdated yet sound properties in passable locations can be had for very little money, fixed up for minimal cash outlay (as long as you do it yourself), and rented for competitive rates. 

You will learn and grow immensely here. 

@Ian Ippolito - Thanks - I just went back to your site, where the guides and background reading are the clearest I've found on the web, and immensely helpful.  

@Josef Roberge, local business license laws differ immensely. 

BiggerPockets has helped me immensely, I look to give back as much as I can.

The wealth of knowledge I’ve gain from them and the forums is immense, and yesterday I made the leap and contacted the realtors on a couple local properties (Clovis, NM) that caught my eye (both single and multi-family).

@Eric Adobo Here's some more context....My realtor is a close family friend for the past 30 years, this guy has been a mentor to me thus far and helped me immensely. 

I too invest long distance (from Italy) and purchased the book here on long distance investing which is a great book and has helped immensely.

@Roland Brown Unless you have an immense amount of capital living solely off of your rental income in 5-7 years is not a likely scenario.