Ready To Begin, But Still Have Some Questions! Please help!

[Amanda Scully]

Hi All, 

I'm a new wanna-be investor in the Essex County, NJ area. I have already purchased my first rental property and am currently house-hacking for just over a year. My husband and I are ready to get the ball rolling and start investing in buy and hold rentals, and while we've been listening to the podcast and reading articles/books, blogs, etc. for a few years now, we still have SO many questions. There's such a wealth of info out there, and so many different paths you can take, that we're feeling a bit overwhelmed as to how/where to begin. 

1. What are some suggested profitable markets in NJ or a reasonable distance out of state (2-3 hours)?

2. How are you managing finances? (It's overwhelming to think of cash flow coming in from multiple properties [eventually] and paying different lenders, setting aside money for eventual repairs, vacancies, cap ex, etc., as well as thinking about how to manage initial capital and hard money loans that we may use to get started. How do you do it? What's your strategy? How much of your refinance profits do you use to pay down initial loans and how much do you reserve to roll into a new property? FYI we're settled on the BRRRR strategy, for now...)

3. What's the actual pre-purchase process? How do you coordinate, once you've located a potential deal, having a realtor (or appraiser?) assess the potential ARV and having a contractor provide an estimate prior to making an offer? (I feel like I've heard so much about what to do, but not as much about the logistics of "how" to do it, and that's where I'm looking for clarification/guidance...)

4. Are you using contractors or DIY?

Thanks in advance! 

Amanda Scully