How to get started with an expensive local market

[Zayne Ruth]

I am decently new to the idea of real estate investing. I have been studying, reading and learning as much as I can over the past year and feel confident that I would be successful if I could get the ball rolling. I live in Northern Utah where the housing market is quite expensive  even when it comes to distressed properties. I'm currently saving up for a down payment to possibly flip a house or two and then use the profits from the flips to purchase a small multifamily property to house hack. Although it is taking a longer amount of time than I would care for to reach the amount of money I would feel comfortable with having prior to me searching for and making a deal. I'm here to ask the people with more experience than I on how to begin this process in the most efficient way possible. I have never purchased a house and only have the knowledge I have attained over the past year with BP books, Robert Kiyosaki books, BP webinars and personal mentors who are investors themselves although they invest out of state. 

I appreciate all replies and look forward to hearing from those who may respond to this post.

[Russell Brazil]

Your salary is consummate with your housing prices. If your market is expensive, it stands to reason your salary is also higher than normal. Most of the countries housing trades in the 3-5 times income range, with only 5 to 10 cities trading at higher rates than that.