Mentoring is expensive, and you can learn the fundamentals yourself through immersion.

I've immersed myself in learning as much as possible with real estate investing but wanted to reach out to the community and see if there are any like minded individuals who'd be keen to connect. 

Learning first hand and being immersed into the business everyday will excel your learning curve. 

Immerse yourself in this site and attend the weekly webinars and read the old threads in the community section, they will help you get going. 

I am able to do this part time right now, but starting 2019, I will be available to fully immerse myself into growing my business and encourage others to do the same.  

.- Self Improvement: For the past few months I've been immersed in my personal development.

Immersing yourself in a new area that you're interested in will help you identify several of these things.

For the past month or so I've been fully immersed in real estate investing education - books, REI groups, seminars, etc.  

Know of any meetings or auctions I could attend just to get immersed?  

If we already have a forum post, article, or podcast on this specific topic, that would be great.All that said, even if doesn't turn out positively, I still wonder whether I should take the opportunity to turn this "First Home Buyer Purchase" into a Flip.On the one hand, I think this is an excellent opportunity to immerse myself into REI.