So I have been dreaming of purchasing these properties for a long time.

hope y'all are living the dream! 

Then refi and use the equity to buy another starter home rather than selling your first home and buying that "forever dream home" with a high monthly payment. 

Don’t have any experience but I’m willing to learn and tomorrow will attend a Real Estate Investment workshop near to Atlanta, where I live, just to start seeing people and not only blogs and books.I wish you good luck on your path towards your dreams!

Low income or capital gains taxes and deferrals using a 1031 tax rule and many other less advantageous game rules are things non-US citizens can only dream of.

Min Loan amount is 100k-5million (these are known as small balance commercial loans)The #1 Thing that sets these funds apart from traditional and commercial banks is that they close where banks fail to close as well as work with investors who are not bankable due to credit & other financial challenges.The reality is this ,traditional financing is only going to take you so far in accomplishing your goals and dreams in real estate investing.  

Passive income has always been a dream of mine and I am now starting to work on making it a reality.

Except that it's the American Dream to own your own piece of the pie.

At this point I would say I know nothing other than it’s a dream of mine and I am generally passionate about homes and making them as appealing as possible... lol...

You don't want to wait, too many dreams fall by the wayside when you don't act.