First house bought, now onto an investment! Advise?!

[Shane H.]

Hey guys!

I'm a long time lurker here on BP that has always wanted to get into real estate investing. I figured my first step in getting into real estate would be to buy a house to live in first. Now that's done, it's time to move onto my first investment property.

I've done a good amount of research, but still feel a little apprehensive about jumping in and making that first purchase. Fear of getting a bad deal that produces negative cash flow for my first deal would big the biggest thing holding me back. Therefore, my first deal has to be as perfect as can be and have some positive cash flow that I can hold in a retained earnings account for future capital expenditures. 

Anyone have any advice on getting over this minor hurdle?

Since I live in beautiful Orange County, CA I would ideally like to invest here, but it is way to expensive and I can not come up with the funding. My next option that I am considering is investing in Riverside, CA and renting out to students near to UCR.

Does anyone know of any meet-ups out in Inland Empire or Riverside, CA area? I would also love to connect with anyone investing in that area. Thanks for the read guys!