Newbie from Atlanta! Interested in residential rental investing

[Haley Thornton]

Hello everyone!  I am new to Bigger Pockets and to real estate investing.  My hands-on experience in real estate is limited to my personal primary residences - purchasing and selling about 4 homes and renovating my house (last house was pretty much a complete gut job). I have taken courses for house flipping, read some real estate investing materials, and listened to some podcasts as well. 

Currently, I have a day job in IT. With the recent virus situation with so many people losing their job, it prompted me to revisit a long-term strategy that will move me away from being 100% dependent on my employment income.  This idea isn't new to me as I have purchased a small business prior and subsequently sold.  I have been listening to podcasts like Smart Passive Income, Choose FI and just recently started Bigger Pockets.  All in an effort to determine what and how I can achieve financial independence.  

With this in mind, I have thought through a number of different real estate investing areas, and have decided to focus on residential rental investing. I am specifically interested in single family and small scale multi-family homes (duplexes, tri, quad).  Before I dive into actually "doing", I would like to educate myself as much as possible in this investing area such as best way to determine a good market to invest in (local vs. long distance as well), best way to search for houses (use real estate agents? websites? etc.), funding options, deal structures, operational and maintenance best practices, financials, etc.   My plan is to educate first, then create a business plan, then execute.  What recommendations do you have?  

Thank you so much for reading this lengthy post and your recommendation!