Here were my selection criteria, in rank of importance: Personal Network - do I have any connections already present?

@Culin TateThere are many CPA's/Accountants out there.

If you do online classes you miss the networking oportunity.

Looking to network with real estate professionals in my area including but not limited to real estate agents, wholesalers, private lenders, tax professionals, and contractors.

He would hire people he would network with from other countries that were nurses, where a 50,000 dollar salary here to bring back to their families was a multitude of money in their home country, and how the Folks living in the Assisted Living Home were much happier to be in an actual house, with a nice yard, and only a few people instead of hundreds.

Currently I'm saving money to make my first purchase and I feel as though this would be a strong way to network and create relationships.

My wife is a partner in a mid size CPA firm, so we know these tax issues quite well. 

A mentor will probably COME NATURALLY at some point if you really focus on networking.

You will need to do a lot of networking to get "the same level of support" as a realtor gets.Regardless of which path you choose to pursue, you will spend money out of pocket (if you don't have a part time job) to cover the costs of doing business.

I wanted to reach out and put my name in the forums so that I can start to network and build a strong foundation for myself.