Before I venture off onto the next steo in my academic career I want to start my real estate investing career by purchasing a commercial or residential (maybe house hack close to school) and i was hoping some of you could offer some advice as to how/ where to get started.

Real Estate Finance and Investments by Peter Linneman, Ph.DThis is an academic textbook written by a prominent real estate expert.

Peter's is an academic text book so it's more pricey, but a worthwhile read and you may be able to find a used copy online.

But this is a theoretical or academic discussion of payoff efficiency just for the sake of deepening understanding.

It is more formal and academic but it is absolutely the best you will get on the numbers and analysis

Anyway, it seems like a lot of academic types use this site, but I bet it's useful to regular folks, too.

The question has been asked as to why I am trying to obtain a degree; the reason is that I like many of the veterans on this forum have the GI bill that allows us to receive an education from most academic institutions and receive a housing allowance while attending.

It is kind of an academic issue but still an issue nonetheless.

Of course, you're unlikely to get feedback from their results here or elsewhere.This is really academic since the only response that matters are from people who you end up monetizing.

It's just that practical application aka making money so much better than academic.