I have been attending meet ups, webinars, listening to bigger pockets podcasts and meeting with successful real estate investors and landlords to gain as much knowledge and insight as possible.

I  go to these things to gain a little bit of information if any, but I see no reason to go to the paid ones since I can get the information I need via online like Bigger Pockets. 

While I liked the vibe of the boutique more, I am thinking the larger companies would offer more transaction volume and bigger group of networking opportunities.

I am new to the site, however I have been listening to the Bigger Pockets Podcast for a few months (among a couple of other real estate podcasts).

Just put a bigger down payment and your gap between PITI and rents will widen

I am currently looking at duplexes to start with until I can get enough equity built up to go bigger.  

We find wholesalers through Craigslist, Bigger Pockets, and meetups (I suggest utilizing meetup.com).

I'm new to bigger pockets but am loving the wealth of information here. 

Seems like there is bigger job market in that area other than Intel. 

Job change, buying their own home, needing a bigger place because of a blessed event etc.A more important question is how long does it take to get a new quality tenant in?