Its worth having your brokers license if you want to make money helping other people buy and sell.

I’m starting to lean more towards private lending as a way to get my toes wet and get my money working for me in a relatively stable way.I’m looking for educational resources or literature.

Investors should be extremely cautious with Qualified Intermediaries that also represent (and get paid on) replacement property solutions or Qualified Intermediaries that refer clients to their "associates" or "friends" for replacement property solutions so that they can get paid a referral fee or those that actively put replacement property solutions together in order to make money.  

Hard Money How did you add value to the deal?

Also, for delayed financing, you may have to source the money used to buy the property.

Depreciation and appreciation are the other two ways you make money off that property. 

You don't want sketchy areas because you will get crappy tenants and smart females won't want to live there (too dangerous at night).

The turn around time on getting your money back is lengthy at 2 years.

The state’s housing is also ranked as the fourth most affordable in the country.Alabama currently has the second-lowest average property tax rate in the country at 0.4%, which helps investors keep more of the money they earn.

This does not read as though its a smart investment on the surface, and secondly, there isnt a lender I know of that will lend on renovations that exceed the purchase price, especially a renovation that is 2.3 times the purchase price.