New to real estate, Albany, Saratoga, NY

[Bennett V.]

Hello BP,

My name is Bennett and I live in Guilderland, NY currently working in resource development with a not for profit company in Albany.  Over the last couple of months I have been seriously searching for opportunities in the region that would be able to provide cash flow to add supplemental income to my current career.  Working for a not for profit agency, I my salary is not nearly what I would like it to be but I have a great work-life balance with flexible time off.  This idea led me to start exploring more in depth how I could maximize my time to invest in real estate to grow my income and allow me to slowly move away from my current career as I scale my investment opportunities.

I am 27 now and grew up in the family business environment ever since I was born, one of which was an apartment building with 11 units.  I have always been fond of entrepreneurship and the idea of having my business(es).  My initial thoughts on real estate, while extremely exciting, were hard to imagine how I would make the first move without the capital for down payment on a duplex or larger.  I have a rough plan for how I could grow after but the barrier to entry seemed too high.  

BP has been a great help in helping me understand other methods that may be available.  I have not yet made my first deal but I continue to read and read as well as listed to podcasts.  This site is definitely a gold mine of info on a variety of topics and I am incredibly happy to have stumbled upon it a few weeks ago.  

I have the intention of moving to Saratoga about 1 year from now.  Does anyone have input on the benefit of buying a house (personal)  before an investment property or is it beneficial to start investing first?  I have almost no cash on hand for investment in either so leverage will be important.  I may have an investor for a rental property coming up as well.  

Saratoga and Albany are both very different markets.  Any insight on each market would be greatly appreciated as well, but Ill save all the extra info for later posts...I look forward to being part of the BP community!

BennettVW