Basically I'm wondering if I should be looking into big deals with the hopes of finding private investors to finance the deal or if I should stay small until I can afford to put all the money up myself.

I suggest reading the guides and browsing the forums.

Definitely check out the Ultimate Beginner's Guide and all the other educational stuff BP has to offer.  

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

Other notes: my strategy has been to front-load my capital expenditures such that my SFH's are "new" when I am done - roofs, HVAC, etc - so that my capex line items stay low down the road.

I have been reading several guides which are available on the forum and listening to podcasts here as well and can tell that this is very helpful for a newbie like me.Even that I do not have as much knowledge as most of the members here, but please let me know if there is any way I can help or share something with you.Looking forward to learning and networking with this great community.

This is interesting though because it could spark a lot more info on how to buy and be creative with real estate.I'd like to stay on this thread to figure out what you find.

My advice would be to read the The Ultimate Beginner's Guide and other posts in these forums.

Stay thirsty my friend, that's all I can say.

I ultimately want to buy something and live in it, and I want to stay in LA, so while being a good investment on its own merits is important, what seems to matter most is that it be better than renting.I'm sure that this has been asked/answered elsewhere on the site so I'll be digging in to see what I can find, but it's the most burning question on my mind the last few days, so I figured I'd package it in with my introduction as well.Cheers, and looking forward to getting to know many of you over the coming weeks/months!