Your next step would be to contact a local lender to make sure the numbers will work for you...You also want to get in contact with a local realtor or investor to find out what market rents are at...

So in theory I should be willing to take $209K today instead of $217K in two months.My questions is: should a price drop be the next step?

The first step when you are ready meaning you have gained all the knowledge that you are going to get out of webinars,E-Books, seminars etc... is securing the capital you need in order to proceed with your real estate career.

@Andrew Boettcher those are the steps I've taken thus far, but when it came time to actually transfer the funds over I became hesitant of how that may come back to haunt me. 

And maybe second and third (hah) steps to getting into purchasing a rental?

I love this thread, because some of the comments are only one step away from announcing a "new paradigm" or a "phase shift" in real estate, where - because of liquidity in the market, new discoveries of uranium in Russia, and theta divided by beta over alpha - it is impossible for real estate ever to down again, so we all must pile in before it's too late and we're priced out forever!!!!

I think step 1 is to look for great buys and just make an offer once you have your foot in the door with a great deal work on getting necessary contractors otherwise. 

I have seen many a client get in very bad shape with partners, friend or otherwise, because they did not go through this very important step.

So I decided to leave my career and pursue real estate so I could have the flexibility to care for my boy.I consumed everything about real estate. 

We would love to meet with some other local investors to start networking and make sure we're not missing any crucial steps in our first purchase, and perhaps make a connection or two with some real estate agents.A little background info.