If it is solid I think it is better to get one under your belt vice waiting for the perfect deal to come along.

A flatbed truck from the roofing supply company, with two guys and an articulated conveyor belt, appeared in my driveway. 

@Jacob Sanders I hear the BP meetups are good here.

I'm paying about 8% and 2pts right now in multiple states (including FL), but that's with experience under my belt. 

Real Estate is a very exciting industry, I already have two sales under my belt within the first month, its awesome finding projects that your investors want to take on!

In border states, such as in the Rust Belt and New England, we have found smaller local banks and credit unions who are willing to lend to Canadians (and are familiar with Canadian credit histories, NOAs, etc).

Once I had more money to put down and landlord experience under my belt financing was much easier to get.

Eric Sanders I’m also looking for local meet ups too, but in the southside Chicago area.

Account Closed If it is your first deal and you don’t have much real estate experience under your belt than it is likely that a hard money lender will lend you less than if you did have experience.

Now I am ready to invest and of course, I'm late to the party :(Everywhere I turn, I find cap rates below 5%, and I don't really want to go into risky C or C- properties or Rust Belt markets for my first investment, as I might find myself squeezed if the market crashes, assuming we are closer to the end of the up cycle now than we were 5 years back.So what is your advice, seasoned investors?