Where should my education focus be?

[Jeremy Bourgeois]

Hey all,

So I have a few months before I have a pretty major move across the country. This year I've been educating myself through the forums, through books, and through the podcasts. I'm just itching to start my investment journey right now but I'm waiting until I'm back in my own neighborhood in 2 months.

My plan is to buy a 3-4 unit multifamily in need of some light rehab work using the VA loan. I want to combine the BRRRR strategy and house hacking and force some equity and appreciation in right away. After that I'm looking to partner with a business friend of mine on a flip to make some extra cash to continue to BRRRR multifamily properties in the future. The area I will be in will be Northeastern Connecticut.

Another thing that I have just recently started doing is analyzing deals, but since I'm not in the area presently, all of the properties I've been looking into have been off the MLS. Basically, I'm looking for ideas on what I should be studying up on or doing before I get there so that I'm as prepared as I can be to jump into my first deal. Should I be focusing on networking from afar? Should I continue analyzing deals? And if so where should I look for these deals? Zillow? Realtor.com? Should I be looking at what my capex/repair/vacancy budget will be for the area? Or should the focus be somewhere else?