I guess that is my best advice: someone attuned to small income properties (ideally the best person, like Peter's theme, may come from seeing who has been the buying/listing agent on the most 2-4 unit multi family properties in your area).  

(I see the same theme in my business) - do I talk to them and then figure out what sort of creative investment opportunity can be crafted and then find someone to help structure it once I see there is a "live target"?

For this deal it seems ripe for a hard money loan in the "traditional" Bigger Pockets theme. 

The theme on my advice is to find a job that will give you 1.) extra money to save and 2.) some exposure to real estate or help cultivate a useful skill.

My CPA is telling the me sale thing.  

You'll start to hear a lot of the same terms, phrases, themes, and success stories which will help you realize the path you might want to take.

The Cap rate around the me is about 7-7.5%. 

One of the recurrent themes in the blogs about finding a mentor seems to be find something you are good at and offer to help.

Everything else, no matter what the words, is some variation on one of these themes.

I know there was a place set aside for people to do the wheelin and dealing of real estate investing.... did you make any deals while there? (For all of us that didn't get to go!)