First Time Investor Advice

[Johnny Wudwanee]

Hi guys, I'm new here, but have been lurking for a while. I've been so impressed by the wealth of information you all are willing to share - thank you!! I'm thinking about diving into the wonderful world of real estate. I travel frequently for work, so my original strategy was: - buy home in desirable area, furnish it well, live in it while local, rent it on AirBnb or VRBO when I'm traveling - once I have additional equity, buy another home and do the same thing, either keeping home #1 as a STR or rent it long term, depending on the current market - rinse and repeat I was considering Austin, TX as my starting point, due to its massive recent popularity. However, I'm starting to think it might not make financial sense anymore. I've put down 3 offers so far (2 of which were over asking), and none have been accepted. It's just a horrible buyer's market. Also, the places I've been looking at are in the $325-$375k range, which would put my mortgage at north of $2k, yet rentals are just barely fetching that amount. So if I actually want to be profitable, STR would really be my only option. Further thinking and the several declined offers are making me re-think everything. In particular: if Austin really makes sense. What do you guys think? I've looked a bit into San Antonio, Sacramento, Colorado, Detroit, and a few other spots, but nothing seems "obvious" at the moment. Any favorite cities that you think would be a good investment?