New Investor to the Charleston area!

[Ryan Kolodzej]

Hello everyone I am happy to read all your insights and wisdom! I welcome anything you can bring to the table!

I am moving to Charleston in about 1.5 months. I want to start investing ASAP. Me and my girlfriend are going to be initially looking for a place to live - probably just renting the first year. After that, I could bring 5-10K cash to the table for an initial investment, and I have great credit. I am not great at marketing, but am good with numbers and analysis.

In all your opinions what kind of 'niche' of RE would you look into with my finances and experience? I am trying to develop some potential strategies.

Could I get into multi-unit properties? I would like to live in one of the units and have construction/contracting experience. Is this profitable? Easy to find deals? This does intrigue me.

Is buying and flipping a good idea? Does it get 'hairy easily (unforseen conditions etc.)?

What kind of licensing is important to aquire? Do I necessarily need any credentials?

Thanks for all your input everyone!