Despite what you have heard real estate is extremely risky.

Living in a home you are renovating while balancing a full time job in mortgage lending is extremely challenging.

Heartless and has an agendaIt's ironic you say this because the site is extremely friendly to your profession. 

That said, South Collier Heights, especially near I-20, seems a bit further along—"better" in the sense of being safer from what I'm seeing.Bottom line: real estate in Atlanta is extremely localized right now.

Then you have the scheduling challenge of finding a handyman or contractor that is available when the tenant is.Some tenants are nice about this, others will go to extreme lengths NOT to allow access:(They can not cooperate by:- Leaving a minor home alone- Leaving a dog home alone- Threatening to get physical- Threatening to stop paying rent and/or cause damageThis may shock many of you who are used to dealing with only Class A tenants, but it is not uncommon when dealing with Class B tenants and is very common when dealing with Class C tenants.

Found it extremely expensive to move forward with their package. 

The events and platform are extremely valuable and the quality the members in the community are second to none.

You could in theory 1031 exchange the property if it was a rental for a while before hand, but I don’t generally recommend those unless you plan to continue building a rental portfolio for years to come.all this should be taken with a grain of salt as I am not rendering tax advice, just thinking out loud here.

It's extremely tenant-friendly, so if you get a bad tenant, you're screwed.

I’m a single dad to two young boys, which is a big motivator behind my goal: to transition into a more flexible, family-friendly lifestyle while building long-term financial security.I’m calling this my Exit Plan Strategy, and real estate is a big piece of it.So far, I’ve:Read Long-Distance Real Estate Investing, BRRRR, and Rental Property InvestingBuilt my own Excel analyzer (profitability, cash flow, cap rate, amortization, 1% rule, etc.)Set aside ~$50k–$60k in startup capitalStarted identifying markets and partners (realtors, contractors, PMs)Focusing on value-add rentals, flips, or BRRRR in desirable-but-undervalued areasI’d really appreciate help with:Recommended software or tools for remote market analysisTips from anyone who got started while still working full-timeAdvice for evaluating smaller multifamily or distressed propertiesMistakes you wish you’d avoided on your first dealAny Montana-specific or Western U.S. insights (but I’m open to investing anywhere)If anyone’s open to chatting or mentoring, I’d be extremely grateful.