I guess my question is this, should I wait until I have more time (9 months away when I'm no longer a single Dad awake on business frequently) or do you think it's worthwhile seeking an experienced investor willing to take on a newbie offering something they probably have but see that said newbie is serious about learning.

I have been frequenting BP for some time now and finally took the "plunge" in joining as a member!

Then they repeat the pattern in the next neighborhood over, frequently.  

The trick is to take that knowledge and put it into action in the real world.

It is an OK neighborhood, but want the tenants to feel secure.For one unit there is a nice grate on the back of the door which does the trick.

Some areas the bandit signs are taken down quickly but if you put them up too frequently you may get a call from the city. 

You can be your own general contractor and hire handyman to do work for you but I highly recommend all investors be on their job sites frequently and help out with the work. 

All these duplexes and 3-family homes are extremely hard to come by, 3-5 years ago they popped up for a bit more frequently.

honestly the trick is this. agents (like myself) : its hard to work with first time investors...they are new and want a lot of information and contacts and want to follow the robert kyosaki (sp) method of look at 100 homes, offer on 10, buy 1...do you think any agent has that much time?

I actually frequent the DFW REI Club and think that is one of the better ones (everyone is friendly and helpful and there's not a lot of hard selling there).