My parents are both very smart and hard workers, and always have been.

Thank you very much for your advice guys, I really appreciate your advice and help.I will stay connected to keep learning from good smart people like you.Have a nice day. 

I'm originally from Seattle, but have lived here for 3 years now working in the technology industry doing software sales.I am looking to learn as much as I can about real estate investing and am looking for mentors, meet ups, advice on books, seminars and just about everything that I need to know before I make my first investment!

(f) Accelerating knowledge by finding mentors, and modeling their behaviors (g) Using a combination of book smarts, and street smarts.Yes, there are the ones that are proven commodities, and are usable, but upon close examination, pretty soon they need to be sharpened.

Because, I can't afford to get a license;Because I'm not smart enough to pass a test;Because I'm too lazy to study and just want to take the easy way out;Because I don't want to operate under the ethical constraints as a Realtor.None of those answers reflect a great deal of professionalism upon the dealer.I "wholesaled" a property last year and considered doing another to assist a friend of a friend but turned it over to a Realtor as that was the best method for the circumstance.

@Michael Rinaldi - super smart strategy on getting started.

You learn how to behave in a professional environment, you learn how a business is run on someone else's money, you meet and learn from some very smart people, you learn how to communicate, you learn how to work with tight deadlines, etc.

Lots of really smart people on here to answer all your questions.

This can be done through renovations, aggressive management (especially with stabilized and controlled leases) and by finding properties that have been under-managed (rents haven't risen with the tide on free market units).Depending on what scale you're working on, the deals are out there, but in a saturated market you've got to be smart about finding them.

Forbes has an article about technology in kitchens driving prices of kitchen remodels in the range of $50K to over $100Khttp://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/03/25/inside-the-kitchen-of-tomorrow-from-iphones-that-make-lattes-to-dining-outdoors/Are you frigging kidding me?