Here is a blog post that I wrote up on cashing out; http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5110/blog_posts...

There free ebooks, guides, blogs and Podcasts and more to help you get started.

@Brandon Turner wrote a great blog post called The Twenty-One Best Books for Real Estate Investors.

Here is a blog post I did for agents; http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5110/blog_posts...

I have a modest downpayment saved for the start up, but still nervous about making sure it all lines up to equal a successful venture.My long term goal (7-8 years) is to slowly purchase a few properties and save the profit. 

So find private lenders or a hard money guy to go purchase some of these deals, fix and then flip them and have a 5 figure gain as opposed to wholesale them and get a modest 4 figure gain?  

If you need to live off some of the cash flow now, the minimum I would target with a private lender loan of 8-9% is $200/month after PITI, modest vacancies and repairs.

here is a blog that I write up on delayed financing http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5110/blog_posts...

I've been reading books, blog posts, and anything else I can get my hands on lately to learn all I can about REI.

If I was you I would check out the blogs that is filled with tons of valuable content and more.