I do have experience in all trades but master of none.

Yet, they still encouraged me to seek more education from colleges, trade schools, seminars, reading books, and listening to recordings of seminars.

and how does it vary with each trade?

./ Municipal Bond} trading and I worked for a reputable firm for nearly 4 years until I realized that it wasn't a fit for my long term goals.Oddly enough, I have read several RE books, and had undergraduate courses in RE... but I am at the point that I need a little "hand- holding" to put everything together.

She know the general market and is an awesome agent, and I wouldn't trade her for the world.But my out of state agent needs to know his stuff as I need to rely on his investing insights.

@Sharon Hiebing , the purchase price was less than $45K/door (that is my all-in figure including capital improvements and all costs)...Class C in Houston is trading anywhere from $10K/door and up, it just depends on what it is, the condition, and where.

The only "regulated" trades here are roofing, electrical, plumbing, windows and hurricane shutters.

They are guaranteeing the loan in case you stopped paying and defaulted, so the lender and VA will allow funding up to (I think) 103% of value.The trade off is you have to pay a fee that @Andres Piedra talked about, and you have to have a VA inspection of the property.

-Real Estate Trade Schools-Books-Recordings of Seminars-SeminarsBe Paid While You LearnA great way to be paid while you learn is to work with someone who has a long and successful history of real estate investing.

My strategy is buy-hold for long-term with 1031 exchanges occasionally trading up to larger properties.I think I'm leaning towards leverage, but don't want to get over my head.