One more "starting out" thread?

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Hello, as most others do I'll start w/ a little background. I'm 35, live in Asheville, NC, wife, two kids, one dog, mortgage, 9-5 job, etc. I can go into detail on my mortgage if necessary.

A co-worker, and I, are looking to try our hand at REI. We are leaning toward rentals, w/ flips thrown in.

My questions:
1. Does anyone have any experience in, or knowledge of, investing in my area?
2. My debt:income is skewed toward the debt side. Will I have a problem finding financing? Who are the better lenders for my situation? I've used Countrywide for my last two conventional mort., and have been very happy w/ their streamlined process. I have never had a problem getting financing for my primary res. but my income will not necessarily show that I can make another 1K pmt. Having a partner will surely help in this but how do I use this to obtain the financing. Do we need to setup a corp. of some sort, then can we show our personal incomes? Lots of questions on these points, any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all. I'm looking forward to this new experience and very excited about the prospect of leaving my job, working for the man, in the, hopefully, near future.