Wannabe north Georgia investor looking for advice to get started!

[Alexis Bertoldo]

Hello Bigger Pockets community! I am currently a Realtor and Bartender living in the Flowery Branch area of Georgia. I plan on purchasing and house hacking my first buy and hold property at the beginning of next year, January 2022. I have about $22K of my own money saved for a downpayment and light cosmetic rehab so far. I will be a first time home buyer. I am interested in the Buford/ Suwannee/Duluth areas. I feel like this are good areas that will experience a significant amount of growth in the future. 

My goal is to buy a home or townhome that needs a little lipstick and live in it while I do some cosmetic improvements and rent out the rooms I do not. After two years, I plan to purchase my second property and do the same, and so on and so forth. I am hopping to at least have 5 doors in the next ten years and continue to grow my portfolio as this will be my retirement plan for passive income and potentially my FIRE plan if all goes well.

Any and all advice would be welcome! What did you wish you knew before you started? Are there any flaws in my plan? Or are there any meetups in this area I can join to get some more insight into the investing side of real estate? Thank you in advance for all of your replies :)