I am highly motivated to eventually make real estate/property investing my career and joined the site to further my education on all aspects of investing. 

I am thrilled to join BP from Washington DC. 

So, I joined, and for 8 1/2 years made better money than I should have been allowed to make for the job I was doing.  

@Bob E. thanks for joining the discussion.  

Joining one would be a great way for you to network.http://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/florida-real-estate-investment-clubs/

Always great to see another Chicagoan join BP.

Did you have to join two local boards?

You took a GIANT step by joining.

Hey MarcusThe 2% rule and 50% rule can be found in the beginners guide here on bigger pockets.The 2% rule basically says that for rentals you should be able to rent out your house for 2% of the purchase price each month, i.e. for a $100,000 home you should be able to rent it out for $2000/monthand the 50% rule basically says that over time 50% of your monthly income will go towards expenses (i.e. taxes, insurance, vacancy and repairs)While im not sure that the 2% rule is necessary for SFH since joining bigger pockets i have found that most serious investors dont operate on less than 1.3% and that the 50% rule can be cut to 36% if you are managing it yourself as roughly 14% goes to a property manager (but you should still want to pay yourself as a property manager)i would recommend reading the beginners guide it has a lot of helpful info on this subjectNick

But, then, Joe, that's not what you do, doing investigations, you joined here saying you invested in notes.