He makes me feel like an idiot.He's obviously loving life right now because he's making a killing on his commissions.

(I would be very careful about putting a hard money loan in front of your life savings!

People sell properties due to changes in their life.

Final and most important point, surround youself with people who are very knowledgeable and look at for your interest becasuse I have found in life that most things can be accomplished if creative thinking is done but most important planning ahead and that might, depending on your level of expertise, mean you need to find a few investors or CPAs, or investor groups to hook up with.I am investor and every true investor I have met, actually loves helping people succeed. 

The thought of building my own future and controlling my life like them gives me a rush of excitement and adrenaline...Here's my problem, I honestly cannot make a connection in my mind of how to go from where I am now to where they are.  

With the door open, the controls appear to work as normal (power button and cycle selection knob appear functional).  

This guy will always be a paint in your a$$ and your life will be less stressful without this bottom feeder.  

Decide which level of risk you're willing to take (based on your cash position, your personality, your confidence in your analytic skills, and your life goals), then compare properties until you find one with a risk-adjusted return that's HIGHER than your alternative investment options.  

I'd suggest to buy one single family or one duplex and go through the whole cycle of buying, rehabbing (a good deal always needs some sort of work) renting out and then managing before you buy the next one.

I thought starting out with wholesaling would be a great way to do this (listened to several Wholesaling Inc Podcasts on this) and get comfortable with real life deal analysis/presentation, but then heard from a long time investor that it is unlikely with my time constraints that I would be able to put the time necessary into marketing and searching for good deals.