Newbie in Dallas/Fort Worth area

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Thanks in advance for this fantastic forum! I can't wait to continue reading. I've already spent hours tonight!

Here's my situation. My wife and I both have good jobs. As we all know, that can always change in today's environment, so we're looking to branch out with something of our own...while keeping our jobs. We're both intrigued by the prospect of trying our hand at residential real estate...i.e., starting with a single family home purchase for rental. The intent is to start very slowly with the hopes that 1) we don't lose money 2) we enjoy it and 3) can at some point blossom the idea into multiple properties so we can add meaningful net worth. It would be truly wonderful not to have to rely on someone else's business (as an employee) at some point! But, I jump ahead of myself.

We are well-positioned financially. We own our own home and have a decent amount of equity. We have no debt besides our mortgage. We have been good savers and have significant cash savings. We put the max into our retirement funds. We're in our early 30s.

I don't know that we can devote the time to a rehab right now, although that's something I'd like to try someday. For now, we're interested in single family home, in good shape, say 3/2, in the +/- $100K price range. We've researched areas and have a couple good neighborhoods in mind. "Good" to us means the houses/streets are clean and well-maintained, there's a "homey" feel, and no cars up on blocks. Rents seem to be in the acceptable range of 1%+ of the homes' list prices. Still researching vacancy rates, etc. Maybe a multifamily would be best? We have lots to learn.

I guess we just want to get our feet wet - but I don't want to be stupid about it. I need to find a local real estate club and begin assembling a team. I need to find out the smartest way to finance, whatever that may be. I need to find out if I'm looking in the wrong areas or at the wrong types of homes. I need to find out how to find the people from whom I can learn.

OK then, off to read more!