New to Real Estate Looking to Invest in Seattle Area

[Alex James Sindelar]

Hi all, I am new to the website but have been listening to finance and real estate podcasts for a few years now and have read a couple of basic real estate investing books. I am currently living in Seattle with my fiancee but we tentatively plan to move to the Midwest in 2-4 years.

That being said, we are interested in investing our money and want to get into real estate for the long haul(probably brrrr). We have around 20k to work with. I know this isn't a lot for the Seattle area but with an FHA loan, I'm guessing we could buy something priced around 500k. Also, my fiance is PT and I've heard of a medical professionals home loan program. Has anyone worked with this and would that be a better option? I have also been interested in foreclosed homes and "courthouse deals". I've always been intrigued by a discount. If anyone has any advice that could help or even suggestions for other avenues it would be very much appreciated! Thank you!