Professional trade journals such as Accountancy, Tax advisor and others. 

I've invested in stocks, traded options, and even a bit of crypto for years.

I just read 5 books (out of print, published between 1979 and 1986) all related to wealth building thru real estate “trading and exchanging” (not for tax free exchange).These were the most convoluted, confusing, and unfocused real estate books I ever read!

Your background in Wall Street trading and current work at a property tech startup give you a great foundation for this journey.Starting with a rental property in North Carolina is a smart move.

I totally agree, so many properties there are new and beautiful that there needs to be *something* to really stand outYou make a really good point re: no plan B, and in general I’ve seen the home values in that market depreciating (assuming because of the boom / growth in supply in the last couple years).I might be wrong here but I assumed that a general trade off between vacation market and metro areas would generally be that strs in vacation markets don’t really have a plan BI’m pretty split at the moment, but really appreciate your thoughts

We have an experienced, degreed designer on the team and we have "trade accounts" with vendors, so we'll often purchase the materials and appliances directly from the vendors and have the contractor pick them up to use on the job.

The trade off was you couldn't apply to a 4 year college but this was a way for kids to get the math credit they needed for a diploma. 

I'm a member of GaREIA, they have a google group where experienced local inveztors trade tested (and mostly reliable) contractors, legal helps, strategy.   

Once you have that agent they will be in your corner the whole time, they will have connection to professionals in trades, they will have the experience to guide you through tough decisions and be your second set of eyes on every thing.   

Trading is super stressful for sure.