Research is overwhelming. Where to begin?

[Mike Ruangutai]

Hi BP community,

First off, so happy to be a part of the BP community. I recently decided to learning more about real estate investing and joined Bigger Pockets by extension. Now that I am here I am finding things quite overwhelming. There is so much to consider: business plan, market, team, financing, etc. Couple things before I start spraying questions.

Our goal(s): My wife and I are looking to build enough cash flow from our REI in order to retire and spend more time with our two young children. (Shocking, I know.) About us, we are southern California residents who are considering a "buy and hold" strategy out of state due to the purchase prices here. Being new to real estate investing, buying a rental property, let alone an out of state rental property makes us a bit anxious to say the least.

I've read BP's "Ultimate Beginner's Guide" which was great, but also left me with more questions. For the experienced buy and hold investor with out of state experience, where should someone like me begin? How do I find the best markets to purchase a single family rental? How do I find and screen a property manager? Should we even consider out of state investing the first time out?

 Thanks BP community! Any advice is much appreciated.

Mike