Instead, I invested in apartments in the nearby Berwyn and Lyons markets and bought a fixer upper for my family to live in.

Hey @Nick Barker   you should have a leg up running the numbers :)I regularly attend or are a part the top 4 of these, the other 2 are ones I do not attend but I believe are valuable.Let's grab coffee some timeTC meet up listhttps://www.meetup.com/Saint-Paul-Landlords-Meetup/https://www.meetup.com/Real-Estate-Investing-Rehab-Meetup/https://www.meetup.com/Future-Millionaire-Real-Estate-Investor-Club/https://www.meetup.com/BP-Bi-Monthly-Meetup/https://www.meetup.com/Rental-Property-Wealth/events/251370403/https://www.meetup.com/Millennial-Investors-Focus-Group/events/24588250Tim

Have a primary residence, buy a fixer upper, rent out for some time, build equity, and sell.

I didn't actually see it but listing didn't say it was a upper fixer. 

For this kind of listing, what you are paying an agent for is leg work to manage showings and representation.

Could any of you recommend good areas in and around Atlanta, in reputable school districts, that are safe, where I could look for fixer uppers.

So you don't need granite slab countertops or upper-end stainless steel appliances or Brazilian hardwoods or anything like that.

If you are willing to do the leg work that the investor has no time to do, then there can be a mutually beneficial relationship there. 

That's what I was thinking of doing, I just wanted to see if I had a leg to stand on before I shell out money on a lawyer.

A downside here is I wouldn't get much real estate (and remodeling) experience during this saving period.2) Every two years move into another fixer upper and do the live in flip.