Questions from a first timer

[Nur Al Sharif]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20 y/o first-timer with no real estate deal experience (also first time posting on any related forum). My biggest concern, as with most newbies, is that I don't know what I don't know, so please be patient if these questions seem basic. My experience is limited to reading about to investing in multi-family properties and real estate in general. My goal at this stage is not to buy a property just yet, but to learn as much as I can and develop relationships in this business. I'm currently between Beverly Hills and Manhattan, both of which seem to have significant barriers to entry for multi-family investment, which leads to my first question:

1) Should you typically only invest in markets in close proximity? My rationale is that if you purchase and rent out a property and then place it under a property manager, there would be little need in being close to that property. Are there other concerns, aside from knowing the market and getting a trusted team in that market?

2) How do you typically find properties, and which method has given you the most success? I'm not a licensed agent so I don't have access to the MLS. Further, I do not currently have any trusted agent connections that deal with multifamily properties, so I feel as though I'm limited to online sites like Loopnet and Craigslist.

3) Anything else you might consider to be important to a newbie? Any common mistakes or mistakes you made at the beginning? 

Thank you!