I am a 24yo investor from the DFW area and I am looking to buy into my first investment-- my modest target is to own at least one cash-flowing SFH (or affordable duplex) by the end of 2020.

@Jesse KindraThat sounds very frustrating.

@Marichelle Lao Can you afford to fix the foundation?

The frustrating thing is one of those lenders offered us a lower down payment with a 4.5% rate which I would have happily taken if I knew I would be bait and switched to 10% down with a 4.25% rate.

Tenants hate them, owners get frustrated with them, and sometimes they deserve it, but often they don't. 

I know Bmore is affordable please be careful of knowing what you are getting when thinking about getting a place in neighborhoods with an arv of less than 70k. 

When grandpa bought the farm he couldn't afford the house and we were able to bring it back into the family 2 generations later.

Recently had an existential crisis and started looking for options to make my small amount of money work for me and build wealth to allow me to travel far and often while affording me a lifestyle that let's me deep dive into personal growth and be present and loving for my family and friends.

I live with my brother and we are almost at the point where we can afford a downpayment for a 2 bdr house in LA, but we would have to spend even more time saving (while still paying rent) in order to have enough money to be able to afford a bigger house or duplex we could house hack.My question is this, is it smarter to buy a house in LA and start putting the rent I am paying toward a mortgage even if I don't house hack it, or should I keep renting in LA and put the down payment on a house in another state that would allow me to generate much better cash flow? 

Rents are also high, so owning a rental property can give nice returns.I've helped a few people in a similar position to where you will be (recent college grads, first real estate purchase) and a couple of strategies they've used are:1: buy a small primary residence as soon as they can afford it, live in it for a year or more while they save more money, buy a second property as a primary residence, move, and rent out the first place. 2.