Is a condo a good first purchase?

[Alexandra O'Grady]

I am just getting into real estate investing and I currently rent the home I live in. I want to purchase something for me to live in while I'm saving more money for a second purchase. I no longer want to pay rent to someone else. My struggle is that I live in Southern California (Palm Springs, to be specific) and the market is very hot right now. Properties are expensive and it's difficult to find a SF home let alone multifamily. Condos are more affordable, but still not much better. Between 180,000-270,000 for a condo. Later on they could cash flow if I used for a vacation rental, but I'm wondering if it's a good idea to do a condo as my first purchase since there is little room to build equity. Would it be difficult to get a second loan for another purchase?