New Member Intro - Seeking Mentorship

[Matthew Montanarella]

Hello Everyone,

I am excited to join this community and dive into the world of real estate investing. A little background about myself... I currently live in the midwest but originally from Florida. My wife and I are finishing up our residency/fellowship training in the next couple of years and will be moving to Tampa for our full-time jobs. We hope to start investing single family/multifamily homes once we are settled down in the area and I am looking for a mentor (possibly someone who is local to that area) to learn all I can from. We hope to look into investing in the Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch areas which are in proximity to where we will be living and working. 

General Questions:

How is the process of securing a traditional mortgage while having a large amount of student loan debt (dual physician household).

How does one best search for deals in an expensive market such as Tampa/Sarasota.

How can I best prepare myself the next 24 months to be ready to make my first deal? How much capital is a good amount to save etc. 

Hoping to connect with investors, lenders, property managers in that market. I am eager to learn!

Matt