It got me thinking about all the folks that attend conferences, spend time on social media forums, read a ton of books, but sit idle when it comes to becoming an active note investor.  

I would recomend listening to all the BP podcasts or reading as many books as you can till YOU feel comfortable with whatever decision you or direction you come up with. 

I too learned the vast majority of my real estate knowledge though bigger pockets podcasts, forums, and books.

Most local banks aren't in (and don't want to be in) the real estate business and may want to get them off their books sooner than later.

Some of my favorite metrics are % return on money invested. 

"Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" is a great book.

The first step when you are ready meaning you have gained all the knowledge that you are going to get out of webinars,E-Books, seminars etc... is securing the capital you need in order to proceed with your real estate career.

Step one read the BP books on real estate investing and then the one on property management if you want to buy and hold.

That's speculation in my book.   

Others in the Rogue Valley are CPM, QPM, Oak Tree, My Favorite Property Managers, and so on.