$40,000 per year to invest

[Brandon Bartee]

Hello! 

My name is Brandon and I want to get started in real estate investing. As it stands right now I own a 4 unit commercial building (2 store fronts, 2 apartments). My business is currently occupying the 2 store fronts, and my wife and I live in one of the apartments. We are getting ready to rent out the other one. 

Our business (School Photography) has grown to the point that I believe that I can start pulling out about $35k-$50k per year to invest in real estate. 

I live in a rural, economically depressed area, and I am unsure how much success that I will find here locally. There is a small city (Parkersburg, WV) within 45 minutes, and a college town (Athens, Ohio aka Ohio University) within 20. I also live within 2 hours of Columbus and Cincinnati Ohio. 

My question is this - does anyone have any experience investing outside of their immediate area when starting out? If so how would you recommend that I get started? Does anyone have experience investing in a rural area? 

I am reading a ton of books, and talking with a few investors that I know personally - but I wanted to make my first post here and thought that this would be a good question to start with.

Thank you! 

Brandon