If you had to have heart surgery, how confident would you be in a surgeon that got his/her knowledge from the internet and trial and error?

I wouldn’t want to get surgery from a doctor who skipped college and just listened to podcasts!

My father had extensive surgery over the past 5 years and we didn't have health insurance so it was quite a lot.  

Fact is your the problem Ricky, your like that commercial where a guy says he can do brain surgery not because he's a surgeon but because he stayed at XYZ hotel the night before, the definition of ingnorant arrogance.  

Running rentals is not rocket surgery and you don’t need a mentor for that in my opinion it might be helpful when you hit snags but the concept isn’t very complex ..that being said ,there are other strategies in RE that I would consider enlisting a mentor for .

Secondly, Nationwide Childrens Childrens hospital is adding on a new orthopedics and surgery center, new research facilities, and a new 12 story inpatient hospital tower. 

This is similar to asking when should you fix the check engine light on your car or when should you get surgery to remove a tumor?

A few years back my father in law had to have surgery which put him out of work and we was not able to afford his mortgage payment on his primary home.

., @Bruce Woodruff, and especially @Jill F..The only three things I'd like to emphasize are:(1) Linda's understanding that you have to know what kind of rental you're aiming for before you start redesigning a kitchen and planning on shelling out the big bucks.(2) Jill's rock-solid description of the process of getting this done.(3) As Scott said, if this is a C-class apartment, light that kitchen up like a surgery, and understand that less is probably going to be more here before you open up your wallet.Only one thing I'd like to expand on:The cheapest cabinets are made out of particle board, it's heavy, it warps and swells when exposed to moisture very easily, but it's cheap.

While it isn't brain surgery there is a great deal to cover and to learn and like most other endeavors to become proficient will it require time, diligence, and laser focus.