I'd like to go into this with my eyes open (and my loins girded). 

Oh, and BP has been a big eye opener as I already stated.I look forward to participating on the forum, and if you are in the Cincinnati area give me a shout!

During the early days, weeks, and months of living in this house, I would curse the name of not only my real estate agents but the lady who oversaw the project of a house that was falling apart in front of our very eyes.  

I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for one I'm able to attend.

I would suggest setting up keyword alerts for your area so you can keep an eye out for local meet-ups.

Investors need to run their numbers thru the lenders' eyes because that's how you can partner up with them to buy deals.

We learned a lot, and now a long-standing eye sore is a cute house with a nice family living in it.

One tip for starting out in your are  is while you are starting out and saving money for your investments, start driving / visiting areas you would like to invest in so you get a feel for prices, rents , house conditions etc, and visit and look at lots of homes and open houses so your eye get used to looking at repairs / upgrades that are normal in a particular market.

@Mark Ferguson I'll keep an eye on that. 

I am really hoping that this community will help open my eyes in the right direction to gaining financial freedom and enjoy the pleasures of life.