Honestly, you should prob try and find a stockish cheap ski, maybe a 701 square nose (90-95) superjet and just ride it for a season, make sure you like the sport, save up your money and then jump into something better, all the while be glued to this forum and learn as much as you can. You can get a SN for under $2000 all day long and as a beginer it will be plenty of boat for you.
buying someone elses problem ski when you don't know how to ride or fix it can be a recipe for disaster.
Not sure where in GA you are but im sure you can find some members of the forum that are somewhat close to you and tag along with them, thats the best way to learn