Guidance for an Eager BP Newbie

[Iliana Herrman]

Good evening. This is my first post on the BP forums. 

I have been listening to the BP podcasts and Brandon Turner's books. I have not finished a book yet, so this may be somewhat jumping the gun. Still... I've been running the numbers on different properties using a variety of online calculators for properties that I initially thought looked like there may be potential. Everything I see for the northern VA area and beyond market is just so unattainable; it seems like unless you have a down payment, that is way way way more than 20 percent, there is no way to get any positive cash flow. I'm wondering how anyone does it in this area, or maybe I just have not been looking for long enough.

I really would like to purchase in my area as it would be my first rental property, and I am most familiar with the northern VA area If this is not to be, I also am wondering what markets nearby would be better.