If you decide to make all the paperwork a good start might be to visit the web of the Secretary of State in California ( http://www.sos.ca.gov/).

I would recommend a couple of other books, very cheap on Amazon and other web sites.That $50,000 would buy you a rental in many US markets. 

If you are looking for the least expensive and something where you don't need to physically go into a bank, you may want to try Capital One as they do have physical locations (in some states), but they are primarily online web based.

 NA Onyido:I am open to other cities now, one of the main reasons for not investing in my backyard is downpayment would be a issue at the moment, and like i said dont plan on staying in the area.

NA Beard

Reserves / CapEx $864.00           ( estimate 6% )Operating Expenses $6,941.00     ( estimate 53% )Net Operating Income $7,459.00  Reserves / CapEx $ 864.00 6% Operating Expenses $ 6,941.00 53% Net Operating Income $ 7,459.00 less Annual Debt Service $0.00 DSCR N/A Cashflow $ 7,459.00 Cap rate 27.7% estimate CCR (%) 27.73% Sales price $ 6,900.00 less Down $ 6,900.00 100% estimate Repairs $ 20,000.00 Total Investment $ 26,900.00 

I love, love, Marion County's willingness to put all sorts of property related info on the web.

There is a lot of good and useful information on their web site, so I recommend reading it all.

Thanks @Ethan Atkinson I went on the web site but couldn't find the one in Marietta but I'll try to make it on the one in Norcross if I can.

Make sure it allows tenants to pay rent online, that saves time, and that it is web based so your data isn't lost of the computer crashes.