I have read a couple of books and numerous articles and blogs.  

We have closed several deals with their services and it has paid for itself numerous times now.  

Currently involved with numerous hard money loans with returns from 9.5%-11.5%.Also part of real estate investment group that is equity based and produces tax sheltered returns from 4%-6%.

I have replaced numerous subfloors for rotten bathrooms.  

Based on my research, Charlotte seemed the best bet in terms of house price to rent ratio, the age of the house ( i didn't want to invest in older houses in fear of more repair costs and such), and finally potential appreciation (though after listening to bigger pockets, I see that investors mostly care about the cash flow and buying just for appreciation can be a gamble).

There are numerous possibilities.Good luck!

If you do that, you're just gambling, it's not investing. 

And three great kids :) I’ve looked into real estate investing numerous times and never took the jump.

There are several big apartment complexes in the area as well as numerous single and multi family units. 

Underwriting of loans became so laxed that numerous properties had shaky ownership.