I'm looking forward to meeting new people and am happy to share my experiences through my first 4 years in real estate with anybody who's looking to get started.

Hard for people to find using just the lookup function.  

But the rental too does have to meet the "active conduct of a trade or business" threshold, which does mean you wouldn't qualify to use section 179 if you have a rental that is managed entirely by someone else and you aren't at least overseeing it and making decisions about the management of it.I mostly disagree with the reply suggesting that you need to have an LLC to take the section 179 deduction. 

I am interested in meeting people from whom I can learn more about real estate investing. 

The few people I've talked to don't really have good opinions on it. 

The most important thing is to work with people you trust. 

My buddy just got burned by someone borrowing from multiple people where the others weren't aware of each other and they thought they were the only one lending, etc.It all comes down to how well you REALLY know each person in the deal, and then, "do you REALLY know them?"  

Unfortunately, people in the trades are often good at their trade but poor at managing their business.

Any insights/people with experience in this market who can chime in?

This is a great place to learn and to connect with people so take advantage of all the great resources.Welcome aboard and best of luck investing!