What do you wish you knew before buying your first property?

[Mitchell Kosek]

I'm currently 23 and have access to around 40k liquid to buy a home when my lease is up in March of 2025. I want to buy a house-hacking property or duplex around the SoFlo area, but I'm wondering it it could be a better idea to invest OOS in Huntsville Alabama where I could afford a quadplex or something of that measure. General advice is welcomed as well but what would you plan to do in my scenario?