As a VA, you’d want to build on that by getting familiar with tools that real estate professionals use.

But success depends on choosing the right cities and building an experienced and reliable local team.

Quote from @Theodore Sutton: Check out the site meetup.com and also the events page on BP for meetings up in your area to meet people like this and build relationships.

hey hunter, best of luck on your journey. make sure to go to all networking events in the area and possibly even starting your own to start building footprint in the area.

Relationship Building: How will you get to know the borrower?

You'll get a feel for the age of the neighborhoods, the vitality of the commercial buildings, the ease of location, the closeness to jobs.The markets you're describing are more linear, and usually have lower capital appreciation.

Value and rents should eventually increase to turn cashflow positive and build your wealth.You're next learning experience will be, now that you are out of day-to-day management, how will you be able to handle the inevitable expense challenges?

You cannot get any meaningful answers until you specify what is your "side gig", how much money it's going to bring and how much expenses it's going to incur, and what kind of expenses.And, as a rule of thumb, unless you clear $50k after all expenses, you probably will not benefit from any entities tax-wise. 

Also, don’t sleep on building relationships with local realtors who specialize in investments.

.- I prioritize building strong, professional relationships with my buyers by taking the time to understand their needs and goals.