New to real estate - Looking to buy in the next 3-9mo

[Eric Land]

Hi Everyone,

I am a newbie in regards to real estate and looking to learn. I am from the NY area and my wife and myself have decided that next year we will look to buy our first home.  We always thought we would end up on long island, but recent events makes it seem like we will likely be moving to the south Shore of CT next year.  We are actually excited about this because originally we were thinking in the 600-800k range (on LI), but we will likely be able to get something nicer in CT in the 300-500k range.  The towns were are interested in are West Haven, Milford, Hamden, range and surrounding area's in CT.  

We are not sure that we will settle down in CT for the rest of our lives, but will be there for at least 3 years.  So I would like to make an investment that I could potentially profit from for the rest of our lives.  I am open to all kinds of opportunities I just don't even no where to start.  Do I look at homes that need a lot of work, do i look at foreclosures, do I look at multifamily homes... I don't think it makes sense for us to buy something brand new as that would take a lot of potential profit out of the investment. 

Where does someone like myself start to figure out the right decision? 

Are there any podcast's or educational resources on this website you would recommend I check out? I see there are over 400 Bigger Pocket podcasts so I was going to look for a few that are for beginners.  

We are not looking to move till next July.  So we will probably start to look in January - February this way we have time for any necessary renovations prior.  So I am trying to dive in now and get educated. 

If you know any one in CT or resources for CT real estate, please send it my way