Good RE investment mentors in Atlanta?

[Jane Z.]

Hi,

I am very new to RE investment. Just found this forum several days ago and learn a lot already, to say the least. We have about $400K in cash. Originally plan to buy a bigger house for ourselves, and rent out our current home. Some of our friends are buying homes for rentals, which got us thinking about this model. Right now we plan to use this money to buy several rental properties in Atlanta.

We do have a real estate agent at the moment. But he has not dealt with many investors in the past even though he has more than 11 years experience and I consider him honest and competent. We have seen about 30 houses so far and made one offer, but we may cancel that offer after reading some posts here. It is a potential short sale. So no big hurry. At the beginning we were not sure where to buy (nice neighborhood with high price vs not so nice neighborhood with low price), but I think we decide now to start with not so nice neighborhood with low price to minimize the risk. That being said, sine we work full-time and are so new to this business, I wonder maybe a good local real estate mentor in Atlanta area will help us at the beginning to avoid any major mistakes. How much does it usually cost? What is the next step? Is it worth it?

I really appreciate your advice.

[Belinda H]

Atlanta2011,

Why dont you consider purchasing in DeKalb, say homes under 50k. I bought one for 13k almost move-in ready. I own 3 properties all purchased for less than 40k each and they're easy rentals. I had tenants lined up weeks before closing. As a new investor I think you should spend less on the first two properties to get your feet wet and learn the process. You can always use property management to deal with tenants. The learning you receive on the first couple of properties is priceless and better to make mistakes with a smaller investment whether you have money to spend or not.