Newbie investor with lots of questions

[Francisco Arias]

Hello everyone!

I am a new want to be investor in north jersey and i have been reading , listening to podcasts, and watching youtube videos to gain as much knowledge as possible within the last 3 months. I have been saving up little by little and have a question and i am hoping you guys would be kind in leading me in the right direction. My girlfriend and i are paying rent ($1000) and i thought maybe we should house hack. Now the prices of the houses up here make the numbers expensive and would pay the same or more in a mortgage. Now i have been looking into south jersey where i have some friends living and see that i can make a 20% down in a single family costing 90k - 100k and have them cash flowing. Should i keep paying rent and invest in those sfr or should i try househacking first. I understand things may also be diffcult in these moments die to the pandemic. Thank you in advance.