I learned that you can really help good people in really unfortunate situations.

You will find lot of people here who are seasoned investors and would love to help you out.What type of properties you are looking for your first deal & funding type?

Ultimately I didn't learn too much I didn't already know after taking a few courses and reading a hand-full of books, and with most of people I've met and tried to talk with, it's been a pretty common experience that conversations go a lot like that. 

Depends how you want to pay out. there are a lot of national syndication attorneys that can help and it's actually helpful but I think you should treat it like anything else. get 3 estimates and speak to 5 people, see who specializes in your strategy.

People pay $400 for Crossfit alone.

I think US Leadlist is the company I've tried to get data from a few times but they limit how many people in an area they will sell to.  

You have the same problem most people have. 

I understand the exceptions with people who live in CA and NY, but I see it here in Cleveland too. 

There is more beyond merely setting it up though involving the operating agreement, separate accounts and books and no co-mingling and many people don't keep that piece maintained too well. 

For a while, a truly irresponsible group of new investors were joining the forums, thinking they should pursue extremely dangerous strategies that put themselves and the people they were buying from at risk.