U have come to the right place, it sounds like u have a huge head start with ur background so all power to u as u embark on ur journeyMy advice wud be too sign up for the weekly webinars they are seriously epic, and with all the other tools available I strongly believe if u can put together a good deal then u will be able to find a hard money investor for sure, I've learnt that it's about how good and clear is the deal to bring in ROIAlso stick around daily and get aquainted with the surroundings and like minded people, I have learnt so much just from reading threads and interacting!...

Insurance is important, but it's just a tool in the tool-box.

Tools, lawn mowers, snow blowers are all fair game. 

Any other tools you would suggest?

I listen to them pretty much daily on Stitcher as I drive and you'll see that it's one of the best educational tools imaginable. 

I'm excited by all the tools available here.  

. :) I suspect in the vicinity of 30 paid in full units.I think if you can afford to not live off the cashflow, it would be wise to use it as a tool to expand your real estate business.

And thus, I think it's just a tool for when you negotiate and the ad can be pretty similar to any ad to people in foreclosure or what not.

You need to start from somewhere - have some capital, have lots of time and a will to hustle, have the right tools to know how to put deals together (read BP religiously!)

there some great tools under the "Learn" tab up top including deal analysis tools. http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2010/06/30...See you around,Jeff