I am a newbie with real estate investing actually I am starting over after making novice mistakes landed me in bankruptcy court with a ruined credit profile...most of my purchases were out of the state.

In this case, I've read a few books but in no way shape or form do I believe I'm any higher than novice.

It seems when you go to these meetings and seminars you run into a lot of novice like myself or ********ters.

Yes, there are a lot of investors, so you need to know your trade and act quickly and decisively, so it can be tricky for the novice.

An agent can influence a novice investor into what they should be choosing to buy.

I'm still very much a novice in that regard. 

From my complete novice perspective (I thought I was interested in it and went to a few, and I didn't bid on anything... just observed):1) There are some decent databases for NJ tax liens... they list when each municipality has their auction and which properties have a lien for sale. 

Being handy can decrease the safety reserve required for a novice just starting out...If you have a problem and you know that you and youtube can fix it competently for the cost of materials, you can trade your time for money and spend your weekend digging up that sewer line, patching that roof, replacing that window, or running some pex-- but hey at least your are working for yourself and you can get started with less cash. 

I am am still pretty much a novice at this and haven't had much luck finding a property like that but am not giving up.  

My wife and I are Auckland based novice investors that are looking to build up a NZ and US investment portfolio in areas outside of Auckland.Looking forward to contributing to the group where we can, as well as soaking up any advice others can provide us with, especially for investing in Do-ups and Rental Properties in Palmerston North, Whangarei and Dunedin.