Lots of great interviews and information are shared each week.

Most people fail to recognize that the precursor to investing in real estate is working hard - learning skills; gathering knowledge of markets; living frugally and stockpiling cash for investments; ETC.

You would recognize gain and pay tax only on the property you sell.One thought for you as a twist on what you're contemplating.  

@Mindy Jensen's recent podcast interview definitely helped with the inspiration. :)I figured we would look for a distressed property, $120k or less.

Not so you can fix it... just so you know what it looks like, so you can recognize it on a house you are looking at in the future.  

I've interviewed at both kinds of brokerages and I'm a bit torn.When buying one of these franchises, you are subject to the corporate BS to an extent.

Fill in the foundation below.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

Fill in the foundation below.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

Interview a few to get a feel for them.

There are about 130 podcasts and each one is an interview with a real estate investor sharing his or her experiences in the real estate industry.