Leaving the utility bill in my name on a SFH and forgetting to cut it off for 2 months :(  

If still a few years, I would suggest you buy something in the outskirts of Bloomington [near campus is too expensive for the most part] - even though I have seen some REO 4 unit properties near the stadium that would be great to house hack.Otherwise, look for HUD and other REO homes around the edge of town or even Elletsville.If you commute from Columbus, then pick up a low cost REO there and go through the process - you will learn tons.Also, Brad Grayson is a speaker/trainer and successful landlord [over 200 SFH] from Columbus as well - I would suggest you seek him out and go to an event that he is speaking at.At 19, I would start ASAP.  

This is an investment and it does get emotional, but you should pay attention to the numbers also, and be critical.A glass of wine helps me take the edge off and take some distance from the deal.

But you also may run across a portfolio that an investor is willing to share and you can cut down on some of the closing costs by making it one transaction.

Don't be lazy taking short cuts thinking you can wheel and deal like some used car dealer, RE is not a used vehicle, it is not just a widget.

As an independent contractor, I was using those funds to supplement my full time job salary and paying utilities and a little extra spending money.

A conventional realtor is just an expense that cuts into the profit so there's really no need to deal with them on most deals.

I feel like offering him a cut of the pie can keep me at the front of the line when it comes to getting my job done first over somebody else's in the hopper. 

I asked why he was selling and he said he does all the property management himself and wanted to cut down of his rentals and live off the sale and cashflow from the remaining.I drove home excited because I felt this was it and I was going to make him an offer that night.

My ideal scenario would be to own a small investment company with a partner that holds a few mid-sized rental properties for baseline income, and supplements this with a few high-profit flips every year to help grow the rental portfolio and pay for lifestyle upgrades, vacations, etc.My formal education is an Electrical Design engineer, and for the past 10 years I've worked for large companies designing complex electronic (computer) circuits for things like Medical Devices, LED lighting, etc.