I wanted to get involved with buying and renting out houses.

I would look to areas much more afordable for your first couple of investments after your own home to minimize your risk while getting your feet wet.

thanks Ricardo. i started looking into list source and found it a bit complex once i seen all the demographics involved (just like anything else when starting), any advice you can share would be appreciated . thanks in advance 

and job stability and former verified LANDLORD REFERENCES            ( check tax records to make sure you are talking to the property owner NOT a tenant prospects cousin.Ok,  THE SUMMARY :                                      LOW RISK & COMMON SENSE1.

There is more risk with little reward for me to do that type of work.

As a private lender myself, I require the investor to have SOME cash involved.

Also it is much 'easier' to be more demanding of someone that is not your friend / family.As long as you go into the arrangement understanding the risks; more power to you.Oren

(I know some are done electronically) I feel like the bidding could quickly negate a lot of the benefits when combined with the inherit risks of real estate lending.

all together worth the risk or not ?

@Tom Kairys, one thing newbies miss is that it is much harder to get financing in the name of your entity vs. your personal name.You can get an umbrella liability policy and buy in your personal name, or buy in your personal name and then transfer to your LLC (risk the due on sale clause).All of these options have been extensively discussed on the forums and accessible via a few searches.