Make sure to check out Education for all your REI learning.

I am a finance professional and my goals in the first 12-18 months are to educate myself in this field and gain the confidence to get into buy and hold residential real estate investing-- at least that is what I think I should be doing (for now). 

@Sim Peyron,Good for you on starting your education business, reaching out to build your real estate network, and be willing to sacrifice "trading up" on a personal residence to put your cash into properties that MAKE you money instead.

Marty Baum rocks and keeps his classes entertaining and educational.

Keep reading and learning, education is the key and no one can take it away from you.

I think these guys can give me the info I need to make educated offers on mold houses. 

Hello allI've been doing my best to get educated as quickly as possible, from the forums, blogs and podcasts mainly.  

You can find it under Education.

I would love any suggestions on books to educate myself as I go through this purchase. 

James, Welcome to BP. you have come to the right place to learn, start with the Education section at the top of your screen, listen to some podcasts and read some blogs, those will get you going.