This allowed me to get some hands-on experience, build up my credibility (showed that I can find good deals) and my confidence which, in turn, benefitted me when it came to time to raise private money.I know fund all my deals using a mix of hard money, private money and/or seller financing (seller carryback or sub-2).By the way, prior to learning about REI, I was teaching science labs and working on my doctorate degree at UH (which I happily abandoned), so no REI experience at all. :)Good luck!

Fascinating thread, Im looking into buying land and building a new home for myself and I already have a crew to do the finish work (when we arent flipping). 

I spoke to @Andrew Smith already and I been completely fascinated by what he’s working on.

Now I have always had an entrepreneurial mind, but I also had a fascination with mathematics and the sciences.

Graduation rates, English, math, science scores-Population/Growth/historical statistics-Job Growth.

I just got done reading the book Rental Property Investing By Brandon Turner, I am FASCINATED With rental properties now. 

I’m still learning the area and rental properties, but have a math, computer science, and economics background.

This is how you can deduce the value on any home that you don't have access to, and it is part art part science. 

A website won't do anything unless you mastered credibility.You need a credible website.Credibility is an art and a science!

While it is not an exact science it works well enough for me and I can get a general idea what homes are moving for.