Got a prequal !! Now what ?

[Nick Loukas]

Hello Bigger pockets community , my name is Nick and I'm looking to embark upon my first real estate purchase within the next few months. I'd love to house hack and find a duplex in the Lehigh Valley area but there just doesn't seem to be a lot in my market right now. I currently rent and I'm thinking about just purchasing a modest single family around 150k in a good neighborhood and fix it up a bit to increase its value and then sell but I'm not sure if it's the best move at this time. I'm having trouble coming up with a game plan because my end goal is to have enough buy and hold rentals to earn enough passive income to live off of. Should I just continue renting and purchase a rental property first or pull the trigger on my first home? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm still learning about the real estate game !