New Investor Looking Out of State

[Tyler Hampton]

I am brand new to rei and my local area is very bad so we are looking out of state. We chose Atlanta, GA because we have a good friend who lives there who can help us in a pinch if necessary, and it seems to be a good area for real estate appreciation. With my budget, cash flow will be tight, but should be positive by roughly $36-100/month (more if we have fewer expenses. I am figuring $200/month for expenses outside of mortgage, taxes, insurance, management, and leasing). The house is single family and recently renovated so the expenses should be low for awhile. I explain all this so you have some background for my question... Should I form an LLC (and where to register it?) for out of state investing, or should I just hold extra liability insurance (do I need umbrella policy?) to make taxes simpler? I hear a good lawyer will sue you personally whether you have an LLC or not. Is that wrong?

The other question would be for anyone in the area that has local knowledge. I have a good realtor there who hooked me up with a good property manager and I think I have everything figured to make an offer, but I wasn't sure if anyone knew if the Pittsburgh neighborhood in Atlanta was a place where I can be reasonably confident about finding a renter? The only concern I have is if we can't get it rented at all. 

I am totally new to this so these may be really basic ignorant questions!! Apologies if they are. Thank you for any help/advice you can offer.