'settling down' before investing? (currently@Milwaukee, WI)

[Yiyi Guo]

Hello everyone,

I'm a young professional who just started to learn about investing. Currently I live in Milwaukee with my husband in an apartment, and we are considering buying a multi-family in a year and start house hacking (can't wait to have a garage and a yard!!). We are both completely new to home ownership and real-estate investment. My biggest concern before jumping into a decision is that we are really not sure where we want to 'settle down', where to live eventually to enjoy life and raise kids. I can see us moving away in less than 5 years.

We have lived on the east coast before, it is very likely that we will move further west, probably not close to Milwaukee. So If we buy a property next year, we either need to resell it after owning for 4 years at most, or hire long term property management if we want to hold it. If the market is going up quite a bit, I would sell it before moving. On the other hand, if I can't sell it at a good price, I will probably hold on to it even after we move and keep collecting rent. However, being physically away from the local community, it might be hard to see slow and subtle changes in the neighborhoods and adjust my portfolio in time.

I want to get in the investor's game sooner than later. But for my specific situation, is it really a good time for me to buy property and start investing now? Or should I just stick to stock investing before moving to where I want to live eventually? Is real-estate investing something for people who tend to move across the country more often? What are your thoughts?

Thank you all so much for your time to read and/or reply, it is very much appreciated!

-Yiyi