Very nice people, very supportive, always with an educational component. https://www.meetup.com/Masterminds-of-Cen-Tex-Real...Start by reaching out to a couple of local RE agents and let them know what you want, set up alerts for your criteria on Trulia, both for homes for rent and for sale.

I'm starting my journey later this year by planning on purchasing my first property as either a triplex or fourplex and "house hacking."

I've made it into the mid 30's and had no idea there were so many ways to invest in real estate.Between the podcast, E-books, forums post/articles and other resources on the website, I have found a great place to learn more about real estate and continue my journey towards financial independence. 

My relentless drive to self educate has been going strong ever since.

I'm sure it is very fierce competition in California so any edge you can get would probably be beneficial for you.Good luck in your journey!

You do need to take homeowner education training (online) and landlord education for 2-4 unit properties. 

You need to educate your tenants about taking personal responsibility, even when there is an emergency.

Upon improving, it should rent for $1350+ when we decide to move out without much challenge based on current tenant and neighborhood rates (always a slight speculation).I'm hopeful that this property will be the beginning of my real estate investing journey. 

I was contacted by a couple contacts on here who claimed to be out to help and educate that got me thinking about refinancing to get cash out to invest in more properties.

I think this is a great post for inspiring newbies to take action and show them that it can be done if you educate yourself beforehand and hustle to find a good deal.