Newbie in Georgia Thirsty for Knowledge

[John Watson]

Hello BP friends, My name is John and I just recently moved to Georgia from the expensive state of California and looking to eventually transition out of my normal career and invest in real estate full time. I am originally from Indiana where I owned a property and rented it out after moving to California in 2014. I used a property manager, but they did not perform well so I became a full time landlord from 2200 miles away! That did not work well so I ended up selling the property in the summer of 2016. I also sold my California home just this past January and now I'm kicking myself for not keeping both properties for cash flow. With hindsight being 20/20, I have decided that it's best if I start to accumulate properties to buy and hold. Since I just purchased a home in GA, I don't have much capital available, but could possibly do up to 20k down on a buy and hold but I would rather keep my funds and look into hard money lenders or distressed properties that I could buy cash and sit on and do most of the rehab myself. I'm in no rush, so I have time to plan. Just to gain education, I'm taking online real estate classes while my wife is taking in class courses. I have already started an LLC to show my wife I'm serious about getting started late this year or early next year. Just wanted to introduce myself and see if any veterans had any advice for a newbie to real estate as an investment strategy and good areas in the state of Georgia along with private lenders or banks in the area. Thanks for any help! John Watson