Thanks, Steve and Mike for your replies.Mike, you've given me a lot to digest here.

I would need to see contracts for both sides of the deal in order to fully digest the process.

Rather than prospecting for books I'm interested in reading/listening to the whole book though, I'm more looking for something that is a "cliff notes" of each book, so I can digest just the most pertinent points more quickly..Charles M. , I've done some searches, read some blogs, and know a bit..

I have also considered (tentatively) pooling money with certain family members and a close friend (who has expressed interest) in order to make the math more digestible.

Here would be a couple of initial steps I would consider taking:1) Digest and read as much as you can on Bigger Pockets (and books) until you have enough information to determine what type of investing you wish to do.  

Once you cross into this world, your costs of raising capital go up significantly.Another downside with having "money partners" take equity in a holding company is that they become owners of all assets of the company (and inherit all liabilities).You could accomplish your objectives by simply forming a joint venture with an individual money partner on a per-property basis.If you have not done so, give Steven Cohen and George Dubé's "Legal, Tax and Accounting Strategies for the Canadian Real Estate Investor" a read - it's and easily digestible primer on the subject.  

Because, again, I think it is based on the exact same data we digest on a daily or weekly basis. 

I'm obsessed with digesting as much knowledge as I can about financial freedom, real estate investing and the like.Do you have any specific goals that you would like to accomplish in real estate this year?

Consider this the readers digest version as there is more to know.  

It's a lot to digest, where do I start?