Out of state investing

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I am a young professional currently renting in a very expensive part of Southern California. I am hesitant to buy a home in my area because they are very overpriced ($700k for a small 3BR townhouse) and I have been seeing the prices begin to drop over the last few months. Also, the mortgage would eat up all of my paycheck and he 2.5 times my rent. For these reasons I am looking into buying some rental property out of state (Arizona, Texas, etc.). My credit score is excellent and I have about $15k to work with. I want to buy a multi-family property (2-4 units) and keep the property long term. I am not sure what the first steps should be? Find a place on the internet? Travel to the city and have an agent take me around? Should I secure financing first? Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, any comments regarding buying a rental property withoug owning a home? Will this make getting financing easier or harder?