Hi all! I come to this forum looking for some suggestion as to where to begin learning how to create a very specific database. I am a business student undertaking a sideline project with a very limited background in computer science.

I have tried using open office's database software but either it cannot do what I am looking for, or I simply just cannot grasp how to do it. I would be willing to purchase the right program for me as long as the cost is somewhat reasonable (i.e. advanced commercial software is out of the question).

What I'm looking to do is something like a contact list. It would include the individual's name, contact info, and two very important things:
1. Property they are looking to purchase
2. Property they own, and/or are looking to sell.

Now, each of those two need to be broken down, for example, a dropdown menu. For 1. (looking for), the things needed would be type of property (residential, farm, commercial, or acerage), then each type of property would have its own set of specifics. So if you chose residential, the types of things needed would be approximate price, square footage, location, address, number of garages, number of bed, bath... etc. The same goes for 2. (property owned).

All of that information then needs to be searchable. So, lets say I had a client that was looking for a commercial property in town X for around 300,000... I would need some sort of way to querry the database based on all of those dimensions (type, price, location, size, bed, bath, zoning, etc).

Okay guys, I know I sound very dumb here, but this isnt my area of expertise. If you could, please give me a place to start; which software to use, and maybe some tutorials that will give me the background to begin designing this.

Thanks so much!!!

Do you have Microsoft Access?

No but if access will do it I'd be more than willing to pick it up.

Who are the users of this system?
If they are all in the same office, or all work for the same company, and there will likely be no more than five to ten simultaneous users, then Access will suffice.
If you are planning to make this available for a broader audience then you will need database server software such as MSSQL, MySQL, Oracle.

There will be at most 2 simultaneous users; both of the same organization. Sounds like Access is my go-to guy. Thanks guys! I may return with questions if I get stuck.