Newbie: Finding the correct state

[Katherine Velazquez]

Hello BP,

I am a newbie and I want to be able to achieve my first rental property in the next 6-12 months. I know I want to invest in single-family/ Small Multi-family homes and use the buy and hold strategy. I have spoke with a brokerage and my purchase range is 100-150k but I am struggling to figure out what state would be best for me. I current live in San Diego and the market is too expensive for me to buy in my own market. Do I just go state by state and evaluate each one ? There has to be a smarter approach, any tips !

Thank you in advance !