There is a local meetup in Lake forest every month that you should check out. http://www.meetup.com/Orange-County-Real-Estate-Investor-Networking/If you would like to meet up before then and talk about investing let me know.

We gave meetings every Thursday. 

I know he pulled back from that but I think they manage all of their units with some VA's or actual employees now.Also the Best way to get into it is too meet people join us at one of the many networking events in the area, you can find some on the events page here on BP or just log into Meetup and search for nearby Real Estate Investing,

We're really just starting our research and trying to suck in all the information we can but I hope to network and meet some people here that might help us on our way and possibly avoid some simple mistakes!

Here are some good places to start: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet- find and connect with other BP members that are in your area.http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts - Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you.And, of course thehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums - ask any question about real estate!

I would love to meet up with investors and speak about the current market we are living in and where it is heading.

@Mark Douglas, meeting up some time sounds great.

I'm not very excited about the market here in California, and with my busy schedule, I'd be looking at investing in turnkeys (right now looking at Atlanta, Austin, Chicago but much more research is needed).

Julie I get it I have owned 3 sizeable HML companies in my day.. and done well over 2,500 transaction as the owner principal of the company.. and I have done them every which way.from no money.. to needing money.. to equity share etc etc.. end of the day its the character and capacity of the flipper that is paramount.tough thing right now for most is finding deals that meet the LTC ratios that make 100% funding even remotely safe. however you are new to BP I see and generally speaking this is a beginners site..

With low financials for a first deal; your pitch, passion, and niche will be more important than trying to meet straight numbers.