Or, they may prefer to diversify what they have to minimize risk.

We negotiated the price down a bit from $350k to $340k and the construction company is committed to pay 2% of seller's paid costs as incentives if I use their preferred lender.

Your accountant might have a preference.2.

Also, there are services that will act as your trustee for property which is an excellent choice.

Connecting with a local agent who knows the Atlanta market well can help you navigate these choices and find the best fit for your investment goals.

-If you're an investor how do you prefer to be approached by a new wholesaler? 

We (collectively, I speak for all of the mods here) would rather keep the active and engaged threads clean if given a choice.3.

I do have experience with significant home renovation but for a personal residence, based on my experience with this I would prefer to buy a property built after 1970 if possible but not sure if that's realistic, the only deals I could seem to find from the MLS are very old houses which I know often brings more challenges with the renovation.Would appreciate any references or suggestions anyone has, so far I've only invested in rental properties that were already in good condition bought with a loan.

Obviously a lot can change between now and next year as well.1031 would seem an obvious choice.

Would prefer somewhere within driving distance, which I think is doable.