Looking for advice on how to acquire my first rental (Military Vet)

[Travis Hosp]

Hello,

I am new to real estate investing and I am starting the initial research on how to go about acquiring my first rental.

First is financing a deal. I don't have a whole lot to put down but I do now make six figures in my current career and have extra money to start saving each month for whatever expense may come about. I also have access to a VA loan, have any of you leveraged the VA loan putting zero down? I know this is not ideal but I am sure there is a way to manage it especially If I can house hack a multi family building.

I am also open to any meetups in the STL area since that is my local market. I am open to investing out of state working with a good property manager. I have looked into REI Nation, they market really well for new investors but I am sure they have big fee's and a few horror stories. How have you guys gone about finding a trust worthy PM?

Again, I am new to all of this but very dedicated to learn/be mentored to get my feet wet and build a portfolio over time. I am also open to looking at commercial investments such as storage units or flex space; but that could be further down the road and require much more capital. 

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond! Looking forward to getting to know some of you.