Saving for a down payment

[Rachel Lux]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on Bigger Pockets so I apologize in advance if I'm not using this forum correctly! Im looking for some community guidance on how to afford a down payment in Austin, TX, nearish to downtown. I am extremely new to real estate investing, and am looking to buy my first home to first live in then eventually keep as a rental property. It seems like all the homes within a decent enough radius to downtown are $600k+. I'm aware of the FHA loan option, but even a $21k+ down payment seems steep when I'm prioritizing all of my investment accounts for savings first (401k, Roth IRA, HSA) and building my emergency savings account to 6 months worth of expenses. Does anyone have suggestions on how to afford a down payment on a more expensive area of Austin, and build up that down payment within a year if possible?

I’m already doing some side gigs to assist, but I’m open to any suggestions that might be found very effective. I also am not a big spender and already have my spending limits cut to the minimum.

Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks everyone and I’m excited to become a member of this community. 

[Mike Dymski]

Maybe consider a less expensive home in another city or not downtown.  Many of us started in very modest homes.