Originally posted by @Gary McGowan:Always buy in areas that have good economic fundamentals.

I would like to suggest Tony Angotti and Gary Swank if you end up Pittsburgh.

I fall in line exactly with Gary Keller's words of wisdom.

Here is my process I have thought out for now, please feel free to critique/provide improvements based on experience:Learn through BiggerPockets, David Greene, Gary Keller -- I personally want to avoid getting too deep into this phase, get the basics and run with itCreate a system on analyzing a property - I have my own parameters that work for me and have put them on an excel sheet - I have what I call 'quantitative' and 'qualitative' tabs that give me a 300 degree viewGet pre-approved as I am learningNext comes the Research phase (learning and researching are going together) - this is taking time.  

Hi @Gary F., I'm not so sure what the advantage is, honestly.

A few recommendations:- "E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber (this will have you working on your business instead of in your business)- "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter (this provides a more foundational perspective on money)- "Cashflow Quadrant" by Robert Kiyosaki (further builds on the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" foundation)- "Set for Life" by Scott Trench- "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene- "The Book on Managing Rental Properties' by Brandon Turner and Heather Turner- "The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod-"HOLD" by Gary Keller (geared toward SFR)-"The ABCs of Real Estate Investing" by Ken McElroy (geared toward commercial investing)"Multi-Family Millions" by David Lyndahl (This is on my list of "To-Reads".

Hi Gary,If your true goal is to sell the property. 

Hi Gary, Great (well thought out) questions!

Keller Williams might not be the right place if you are getting your license for personal investments and your not focused on finding Real Estate business, however Gary Keller has put out some amazing books on Real Estate investing and becoming a Millionaire Real Estate Agent. 

@Gary Dawson, there is a way to do that with exchange funds but it is an additional process called a reverse or reverse improvement exchange.