Not Sure Where to Begin, But Excited!

[Kathryn Daniel]

Hi everyone,
I stumbled upon this site while searching for info on real estate investing and saw so many helpful posts from various people that I had to join! I work in property management currently at a luxury apartment community and would love to start my own business by investing in and leasing single family homes. I do not have a lot of liquid assets but do have enough to purchase a lower-end home (under 100k, preferably closer to 50k!) and put some work into it. I am a bit concerned about being able to rent out a home in areas that are not the greatest (areas where one can find houses for under 100k). I see that quite a few people here do just that, and my fear might just be due to the fact that I work with a completely different type of clientele at my current job. I guess my main question here is this: should I wait and save up enough money to buy a home in a "nice" area, or put down what I can now to take advantage of the low finance rates now and start to build my portfolio? I don't want to lose out on the great rates; at the same time, I do not want to go broke by making bad decisions.
I'm going to start reading books on Illinois Landlord/Tenant laws in addition to general real estate investment. Is there anything else I should delve into first? BTW, I will be investing in real estate in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
Any and all responses are greatly appreciated - I could use a lot of direction at this point!
Another question I have: Do you pay particular attention to the school district in the homes that you purchase? I've been doing that so far and wondered if it really makes that much of a difference. I know it would for me if I were looking for a rental.

Thanks!
Kathryn