@John Hyun - establishing your goals and purpose for real estate investing is step 1 in my 10 Step Guide.

Better to over-educate than under-educate IMO.Here's an article to help you get started: https://themortgagereports.com/19098/first-time-home-buyers-guide-the-basics-of-mortgage-sp16i.

I think hard money lending would be awesome, I am not at that point yet, but I have worked with several of hard money lenders and I know that if you do hard money lending that you will need a system and guidelines to guide your lending decisions along with enforceable legal documents in case things don’t go as planned you can foreclose and take back the property to recoup your investment.Turn key rentals managed by an honest turn key company could be a good avenue for you but you will need to vet the company and manage the manager.Buying performing notes is also more of a passive investment that could get you maybe an 8-9% return.

Since its owner financing, the terms are loose and not guided by DC bureaucrats. 

I am a Florida attorney and I would advise a Florida client that an LLC is very valuable.

I have been slowly reading through the guides on the BP website to gather background information.  

At the same time, I look for people that in exchange are willing to guide me through the process of getting into rentals, and starting out with rentals. 

You seem like you could be a valuable person to have a few years from now if you stick with it.

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

I was thinking of putting someone else as the buyer but my compliance department said if I guide them in any way or tell them what to do I would be acting as a broker.