@Russell Brazil I like your style straight to the point!

But you could also look into Lance Edwards....I can't vouch for him myself but he seems to teach how to invest in small apartments without a lot of money. 

I'd like to add 1-2 of these older style books to my library.

if you really want to do this in my mind there is really only one way to be successful at it.I am going to take other side of the coin and a little devils advocate and probably a little harsh.you may find that investor who just loves to hear himself or herself talk and will be happy to have some to chat with.. rare but I guess could happen.. you will then get the investors who troll the REIAS looking for mentee's but really all they want is a bird dog.. if you can bring them a deal or two they just spit you out and go to the next wanna be.the path to this to learn the correct way and meet like minded professionals is to get your real estate license.. and work for a brokerage .. join a team.. they will welcome you with open arms they will actually teach you not suck you dry and spit you out.

Where I was teaching English for the last 5 years.

The most important thing wholesaling will teach you is finding leads!

It teaches some good lessons about Value-add investing and some other more basic principals. 

Any addiction program teaches that the first step is honesty.

- What is your opinion on having freedom to pursue side jobs and/or real estate investing as a contractor who works from home (minus a few days a month on project location) compared to a typical 8-5 that requires 2 weeks of travel a month.Additional information to consider is:- My fiance who lives with me is a teacher with stable income and benefits and currently has no plans of leaving to pursue real estate full time as she would prefer to teach and do real estate on the side with me

There is absolutely no reason to pay a mentor thousands of dollars to get started when you could use that same money to buy your first deal and learn a hundred times more than anyone could ever teach you in a weekend seminar.