I am very new to the REI world and am soaking up as much knowledge through the BP podcasts and YouTube.

Take time to soak up the wealth of knowledge available here.

However, any and all "seed money" needs to be a capital contribution to your LLC. 

Between that money and my 401k I have some good seed money to start.

Pick their brains, be a sponge, and soak up the information.

I am brand new and still soaking up every bit of information and knowledge I can get my hands on.

I see this forum as a good opportunity for me to soak up information from experienced professionals. 

do you have experience with urine soaked into floors and baseboards?  

It works well if you use it according to the directions (plastic scrapers a must with longer soak times).

I highly recommend  you look into that.Something you might want to look into before you get started1) Soak up as much info as you can so that you know what you're doing.2) Pick a niche and try not to get distracted by various means of investing.3) Build your team before hand - insurance agent, local community banks, lawyer, realtor, property manager and handymen.4) Run numbers on a LOT of properties just to get familiar with the process.5) Research on neighborhoods that work out for you.6) Network.