@Vijay Prabhakaran I presume you found a company by now, but for others I would advise you to screen them thoroughly and find out what they don't do well so you're not surprised.

You will be surprised how quickly you will have a down payment and without debt to boot. 

Didn't enter a restaurant, mall or convenience store unless it was to go to my 3rd job.  

All apartments need to be renovated so im assuming about 30 dollars per sqft so thats about 130,000, roof needs to be done thats about 40,000, and the other 30,000 for any surprises along the way, im getting this prices from a friend that did something like this on an 8plex in my town. 

You would be surprised at what you can achieve when you really want things.

Just a laid back midwestern town, close to base, turnpike, casino, and surprisingly, came well rated this year in their school system.

To my surprise the books I read were very motivational.  

Every week we interview another investor and hear about both successes and mistakes.We also have an entertaining podcast, that is conveniently filled with tons of real estate information.Take some time to browse the site.

I am surprised your friend can't scrounge up 5k from somewhere without paying 20%.

Given that we are entering into a period of global macro economic uncertainty and tightening monetary policy here in the states, its no surprise stocks are declining.