Today I sold my diesel pickup to get cash to get started.I am still trying to find a good contractor in my home town. 

Essentially I need a "contract to go under contract" or a first right to buy if I succeed in the rezoning.

Looking for contractors in the Atlanta Market who do a good job and very professional.

Do you have the expertise on framing and other issues to evaluate what a contractor tells you?

I know so far is that 1) you need to live in the home for at least 1 year and 2) all the work must be done by a licensed contractor. 

Build a relationship with your local handyman or contractor . 

The only wrench in all of this is that as I am not familiar with the area in its entirety, I am having trouble networking with a decent contractor that I can partner with/hire to help with the rehabbing process.

That would include you or them acting as a third party facilitating a real estate transaction between two other people.If you are only buying properties for yourself to flip or whatever, and these appointment setters are your actual W2 employees and not 1099 contractors, then you are probably OK.If you're a wholesaler and don't intend to take possession of the property, well that could be completely different.As always, I would advise spending a few bucks to talk to a real estate attorney on matters like this.

If you had an established and trusted team of contractors, I would say that there is a tremendous opportunity for value-add opportunities throughout SA.

If you're going to self manage, you'll want to start building a list of vendors, contractors, and realtors to research.