Lending private money, getting things started

[Evan Loader]

I'm a 35 year old professional that travels a lot for work, but still actively wants to invest in RE. I am currently working overseas in Bahrain as a civilian defense contractor and won't be back in the US until at least the end of the year, if not much later. This makes investing directly in RE difficult, clearly not impossible but harder to get things rolling. I have participated in a syndication as a limited partner, but want to branch out into private lending, loans of one year or less. 

I read 'The Bankers Code' by George Antone and it drew me to private lending. For my situation being away from home so often(I'm a Michigan resident), this would still allow me to participate in real estate but be diversified beyond a syndication. The more I have researched the area, the more comfortable I am to actually do it. I am not looking to loan out a ton quite yet, but $30-$50k seems reasonable. Is that enough to attain a good return? I would want my money to be secured by a promissory note and mortgage on the property in question, and thanks to the advice from some on here, if the property in question isn't enough to cover it, I would need to attach a lien to other property to ensure I can get my money back. 

What do you all recommend as to additional education/reading or areas to explore getting things moving? Thanks.