Good luck on your journey, and you made a great first step.

I am a new investor currently deployed but expected to return in the near future, however there are a few things holding me back from jumping right into the mix of investing and I was wondering what some of yall did as your first step!     

Invested with other sponsors for 5 years before stepping into the GP role.I'm not sure why people continue to echo that "most syndicators require you to be accredited". 

I have certainly had people come in and say "if it was a bit lower..." but I turn them away because that is the first step in surrendering control of your asset to a tenant.

Other agents in the office will try to sabotage them or steal their buyers for their own listings, every step of the way.

And the easiest route, if you've got capital already, is to just start with rentals.I think your next step should be to run some more numbers until you trust your gut a bit more.

The buyer did not preform and the escrow company is saying they can’t release the funds. what step do I need to take to have the escrow company send the deposit to us?

Getting started alone is a huge step. 

I will definitely try those methods! 

I also want to be somewhat methodical as I know I have a tendency to get a little info and just run with it and it has bit me in the *** before with other purchases (vehicles).