Spam vs Information

Ok I know many of you can relate but the amount of stuff showing up in my mailbox under the guise of being real estate education is nothing more than spam. Every other email from the real estate so-called "guru's" is nothing more than a tactic to get you to purchase their next big "secret" and pull out that credit card. It's all about marketing and maybe a lot of these guys and gal's actually do investing, marketing is primarily their main gig.
I've unsubscribed from most of the "guru's" mailing list's and rarely op-in on anything anymore.
I think many newbies get caught up in this at first and it can cause confusion. There is much free content out there and places where you can go for free information that is universal and you won't get bombarded with spam. My personal favorite is flippinghomes.com and Steve Cook.

Update

Ok it's been much to long so I need to update here. First, I still have not found a deal.
I am as motivated as ever and have done a lot since April. I've joined a local "millionaire maker" group with other new investors. The group is headed up by 2 sucessful local investors. We share ideas and education and also hold accountability sessions.
I have begun the following daily routine. Driving my local area, looking at for sale signs and looking for abandoned homes which I've not found. I pass out my business cards and fliers everywhere I go. I just sent out 300 post cards marketing my services and planning to post an ad in the local Air Force base newspaper.
I did recieve one phone call from a lead who saw my ad. She had a home for sale in the Chesapeake area of Hampton roads. After listening to her for 10 minutes I could tell she was not motivated. Her listing with a realtor was about to expire. She was asking close to the market value for her home and I politely told her that that price would not work for my business's purchase needs but told her to call back if she would consider lowering the price significantly.

Hangin Tough

Just to give you all an update on my progress since purchasing Steve's course a few weeks ago. I've got everything in place and have made several offers that got rejected but we all know that means I've got to keep finding the deals and keep submitting. One thing I'm learning for sure is that while attempting to network with local investors and real estate professionals, unless you REALLY know the market and bring something proposed to the table, more than often you won't get many, if any callbacks. This is definately a business and seasoned folks get approached every day all day by new investors and while I'm sure they are happy to see folks like me getting excited about making money, unless you bring something to the table you are wasting their time and yours. Craigslist has shown some potential from ad's I'd placed weeks ago for birdogs so I have two of those now. Basically I'm continuing to study the local market by physically driving through neighborhoods (while listening to Steve's CD's), checking the mls and checking the local paper. I've approached a few realtors to work with me but so far, no bites. It's just a matter of time my friends. Persistance will pay

Progress

It's been about a week and things are progressing along steady and solid. The wholesaling course I'm studying has a wealth of information and techniques I've already implimented. My business cards are still on order and should arrive soon. www.vetbuyshomes.com is live now and being tweaked for consistancy and keywords to submit to search engines. That's a job in itself. I've made contact with a local investor who's been around a while. We talked and he sounds sincere about helping me when and if I needed help. I'm also talking with a local realtor who may work with me sending me leads and helping me learn the local market.
The majority of contact I've made though has been spam type mail from companies wanting to sell their product and get you on a mailing list. If there's anything I've learned so far it's that lists of potential buyers for your product is where it's at.

Got the course

Steve Cooks "Wholesaling for quick cash" course finally came today. It's been a while since I've been this excited. I've read the first 4 chapters already, taken the end of chapter notes, and internalizing everything. My business cards should arrive soon.
About the local investors meeting that was scheduled today; I showed up at Ruby Tuesdays at 1130 which was the scheduled time. No one showed by 12. No phone calls. I stayed and had lunch myself there and honestly was kind of pissed to have my time wasted like this. I sent the organizer an email to ask her what happened.
I did recieve an email from a local investor who has experience with wholesales and rehabs and we are going to set a time to meet and discuss networking. I also drove around my farming area today but didn't find any houses that fit my criteria of needing rehabs or abandoned.

Education, Preparing

I've been reading every single thing I can get my hands on involving real estate investing and specifically wholesaling. I've ordered Steve Cook's Wholesaling for Quick Cash: A Real Life Guide to Flipping Homes (V 2.0). Went to godaddy.com and purchased 2 domains, (VETBUYSHOUSES.COM and VETBUYSHOMES.COM).
I've joined the Peninsula Real Estate Investors Association (PREIA) and will attend my first meeting on 2/13/08. Been driving about my local area to look for proporties and just get an idea of what's out there. I've been pushing myself, honestly not sleeping well. I do enjoy this and feel passionate about it but perhaps I'm driven by fear and stress? Not sure.

Starting out

It's amazing how much information is out here on the internet. I'm beginning from scratch, no experience which means I'm setting goals and educating myself. I can see how folks can get stuck or intimated because just typing in "real estate investing" in google turns up a dizzying amount of info. I've been creating an online presence with this blog and setting up a myspace account to network with other investors.
More importantly I will be attending a real estate meetup with local investors to learn and network and get my feet wet.
I'm super determined and excited to get going.