Hey everyone! My wife and I are looking to start investing this quarter. We've saved 250k and would like to invest out of state while keeping our California jobs and renting here. We're considering using the BRRRR method to start out and would like to have a diverse real estate portfolio in both the hot markets and less expensive markets.

Is it best to start at the more expensive markets (Denver, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Phoenix, etc) that’ll have a lower cash flow, better appreciation, and possibly more money to take out on refinance. Or start at the less expensive markets (Mid-West AR, IN, OH) with a higher cash flow, but little appreciation, and be able to get a few more properties? We’d like to be in both types of markets, but are trying to figure out which one would be the best to start in to maximize our portfolio and then scale, while also keeping in mind that the market might go down for which we need to be able to hold and have cash reserves. Would appreciate your advice!