Also I've signed up for the real estate exam to be come an agent and have been studying for that as well.

I work with people nationally on their credit rating because I do to lease to own and getting them a mortgage is an urgent priority It's been my experience doing this over 30 years that takes about 6 to 12 months to improve your credit score to a point where you can get a great mortgageFTC.gov is a great website , study the fair credit reporting act FCRAWww. upgrademycredit.com is a one on one coaching service that I use for all my time my tenant buyers to help them get a good FICOBank round Robin is a process to help you boost your credit score within six monthsHow it works: you take $1000 and bring into a major bank and talk to the bank manager and asked them to take that money and do a secured loan for 12 months came back about $85 a monthDouble up on payments where you make two $85 a month payments and pay it off within six monthsWhen you pay off your secured loan then get another secured loan and double up on payments so at the end of 12 months you have two secured loans that are paid "as agreed" on your credit report which boosts your FICO score

I've been studying real estate investing for the past 2 months and am now starting my journey to find my first deal.

Everyday you need to study and everyday you need to network.. those two things will do the most for you in the long term.

Studied-Studied-Studied and pasted! 

In that time:We did a complete re-plumb and moved the laundry room inside the house.We re-wired and upgraded all the panels.We completely gutted both bathrooms and re-did them.We replaced all the windows and doors.We gutted the kitchen and put in new tile, cabinets, granite countertops and appliances.We repaired the roof and converted the outside laundry room into a garden shed.We re-did all the floors with cherry wood, tile and carpet in the guest bedrooms.We re-did the HVAC with a new unit and air handler and moved the air handler out of the master bedroom (not sure why it was there) and into the hall closet to free up closet space in the master.We replaced the deck which was rotted, landscaped and removed a dead tree which definitely would have been considered a hazard.And e took a strange room addition right off the living area and framed it into two rooms, a study and a laundry room.Thanks everyone for reading, and stay tuned for part 4... the finished product.

Some free self study is a strong first step...

Be sure to study up on the UDFI tax implications that come with the use of debt financing in an IRA.  

So know your market and study the numbers.   

If you consider yourself a strong student with good study habits, though, you'll probably be fine with any course... passing the state exam wasn't rocket surgery :)