I'm going to order some T-shirts next week with my bandit sign on them and do all of my shopping, eating etc... in my targeted areas

Why don't you start by wholesaling:Find a great deal, shop it around to other investors in your area (local REIA, Craigslist, calling signs, etc), and then assign your interest for a finders fee.Do this a few times and you'll have your own cash for your own deals...

-Don't be afraid to shop around for a Realtor...95% of them aren't going to have a clue about effectively helping you buy/sell investment property.

Watching some infomercials and found a very neat tool, the Versacut, a swiss army hand saw (tile, circular, table, and chop).I am looking to get my first tool set, and noticed that this would be easier to haul and use than a bunch of different items in a bag.

IMO, no, you don't need an LLC, but get insurance.If you choose to form an LLC, I don't care for internet form shops really.

I don't wholesale, but from what I have gathered generally wholesalers are working separately form realtors, they find their own deals, and shop them to buyers; no realtor needed.Andrew

My shop teacher flipped houses in the summer, he'd hire some of us kids to help in the summer, I'd say he did very well, fix and flip and buy and hold, I certainly don't have numbers as I had no clue then.First, I'd suggest you not begin by learning the big picture, as a teacher I know you understand that you really need a good overall knowledge in an activity before you specialize.You can really do anything you like, while the days during school might be busy, RE may only take a few minutes in an evening.

If place is not rented pack a sleeping bag!

I don't have this venture fully executed yet, I'm in the exploration/research phase of it but the plan is to dock it at the marina (where they have a convenient store & ice cream shop/picnic area and as far as renovation, I'm still learning that but my thought is that we can do higher quality materials and finishings since the square footage is so much smaller. 

I think my friend is concerned because though it is in a nice area, great schools and some shopping, the immediate area is more single family with just a few duplexes (though there are no vacancies in any of them).