From a fellow newbie.I work a 9-5 as well and plan on keeping my hospital job (Luckily, I am only part-time at this job but have the option to pick-up extra shifts or take extra call 📟). 

I had a chance to pick the brain of the auctioneer who runs the auctions for a number of the counties and municipalities in GA.  

Hey everyone,I’ve been working in real estate for a little bit now, and like many of you, I’ve found that two big challenges keep coming up:Finding distressed or off-market properties before they get picked up by others.The time-consuming process of property analysis—especially when trying to figure out ROI, ARV, or repair costs quickly.I’m curious how you all are dealing with these issues.

Pick your niche and stick to it.

Start picking the minds of the people who are already in the industry and see which side of real estate you would like to get into. 

I did it for a number of years and typically picked up one property per year. 

Not saying you do not know how to do this, but make sure you pick the right lead source and know what that lead source will be giving you.

Here's how I do my due diligence:1) Portfolio matching: (takes 30 seconds per deal)a) Have an educated opinion on where I think we are in the real estate cycles (financial and physical market cycles)b) Then and only then do I pick the strategies, capital stack, and specialized asset subclasses that make sense for that opinion.

With more than one unit, the biggest difference is that you have tenants complaining about each other and the property picks up more of the maintenance, like lawn mowing.There is a huge difference when you get to 5+ units as those are valued using the income method. 

Pick their brain.Lastly, I'd make sure their insurance policy names you as an additional insured.