I'm hoping to combine all of my experiences into a career in real estate investing, although I'm not sure whether full or part time is best for me currently.Out of my current resources I currently have more time than money and am very interested in starting out as a bird dog or any other way I can be of service.

@Devan Mcclish, a good thought...However,Water/Sewer/Garbage are all combined in one bill/account within this municipality, required by statute for all residential units, and would require meters AND sewer AND Totes/dumpsters to be individual to each unit.

I'm hoping to combine all of my experiences into a career in real estate investing, although I'm not sure whether full or part time is best for me currently.Out of my current resources I currently have more time than money and am very interested in starting out as a bird dog or any other way I can be of service.

The volatility of the market combined with the astronomical costs of marketing that it takes to create leads leaves many people bankrupt and forces even the most successful of those in this field to find easier ways to make money in order to supplement, and in some cases replace, their sporadic income that is pretty standard among wholesalers and creative investment specialists. 

Especially since such people will combine a developing personal relationship with the business transactions.A really simple iron-clad policy could have prevented this situation(other than wasting some time) - "no cash no keys".

The least expensive will usually be a combination of the three, but consider your management over the path you select.Offices require more attention to access security than a single tenant.

I would be willing to help do some of the foot work in any deals you have going in order for me to learn all the steps involved and to contribute for your help.My main goals at the moment are a combination of acquiring some rental properties for ongoing monthly cash flow and the occasional wholesaling or flipping for more short term cash.  

For me success is a combination of being happy and money.  

But in my mind, spending time to buy properties which cash flow - completely disregarding any potential appreciation - is a similar kind of "safety insurance".The danger I think is when people come into the market because they think "real estate is going up" and they expect appreciation, without looking at fundamentals (cash flow).It's the real estate equivalent of someone looking for a hot stock tip - they want the rewards without being willing to do the work of educating themselves, doing real investment analysis, and choosing their investments carefully - the "stupid money" as you said.Right now it seems that values are coming back, but real incomes haven't risen, it's really driven by a little more demand due to people feeling their jobs are more secure than a few years ago, combined with still-tight supply.I think what we're going to see over the next few years is that builders will step up to the plate and do a lot of building.

I'm sure eventually I'll be using a combination of strategies depending on the situation, but right now I'm in learning mode while also trying to network & save some money for my first deal.My hobbies include music production and listening to podcasts that deal with online business (i.e.