Novice Investor - Colorado Springs

[James Ross]

Hello Bigger Pockets!  I'm a brand new real estate investor in Colorado Springs!  Or I suppose I should say I am not yet an investor but want to learn to become one.  I own a house myself and have a roommate paying some rent, but I can't rightly say that I've invested in real estate yet.  

I am mainly interested in passive income and do not plan on being a full time investor as I have a full time job that I plan on keeping, at least for the foreseeable future.  The ultimate goal, of course, is to have enough passive income to get out of the rat race, as Robert Kiyosaki would say, and not have to work.

My big questions are how do you get started?  How do you recognize deals?  Figure the value of a home/apartment/etc? Work out an investment strategy?  The main thing holding me back is that houses and other forms of real estate are expensive and I'm afraid that if I make mistakes with my first deal it will cripple my ability to invest in the future.  Additionally, Colorado Springs is an insanely fast moving market at the moment.  Even when house hunting for my residence a house would be gone within days of being listed. 

I look forward to learning! Thank you and it's a pleasure to be here!

James Ross