Have clearly defined investment criteria that suits your goals (e.g. target cash flow return, value-add opportunities, equity appreciation resulting from value-add, etc.)3.

Therefore, I may pay less attention to the appraised value, but that's because my goal is cash-flow. 

Overall, for the amount of money you have, and your goal, I'd personally recommend looking into flipping, until you can save up more capital. 

I'm also learning to do bookkeeping for a friend's company.My broad goal for real estate investing is to earn enough money to be financially independent.

What are your goals?

@Troy Luster it just depends on your goals and what you want out of your property.

I gross around $110,000 per year in rent and pocket about $3,200 / month depending on how many expenses I have.My goal is to achieve financial freedom soon. 

It's wonderful to read other success stories and goals.

We agree on the goal, but how to get there?

The amount of knowledge is overwhelming, but I'm hanging in there.My 401k and Roth used to be my rock, literally my goal to becoming financially independent, but I'm seeing now how thin simply maxing out a Roth account is for me as a plan.