Shop around for a good, reputable lender who can qualify you before you buy and rehab a property.  

Build reputation.

He seems to have a great reputation on this forum and is likely familiar with what investors are looking for.

Reputation is everything.

An agent can't make you sell your home and from an agents perspective its better to end things amicable rather than get a reputation for being petty.

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.

Just be sure to put a lot of thought into the full impact your actions have with the public...because it's damned near impossible for a new business to bounce back from a negative reputation.

If it's a long term buy and hold it's not a huge deal as long as it produces enough cash flow to be worth it.I would pay a couple hundred dollars for a structural engineering report and take a reputable mason to evaluate it as well. 

For the most part, people are much more skeptical on solar because it's installed on the roof, impacts athletics, and it's something that needs to be "dealt with" (either maintenance, contract with supplier, etc.).As @Charlie MacPherson added, mini-splits are a great value-add and through mass saves you can get a 10 year 0% loan if they having heating capability.As for Geothermal -- A real challenge can be ground rock in this area.

Get a quote from a reputable contractor if you don’t have enough experience to ballpark it.