First Real Estate Venture

[Miguel Kelly]

Hello everyone,

This is my first time getting into the real estate market and I want to buy a property that would probably end up being a single-family home (condos and townhouses, unfortunately, don't appreciate as much, and they aren't building any new single-family homes in my area). I am 23 and I make $65,000 a year as a software engineer with no debts and around 20k saved up. I live around the Hallandale/Hollywood area near Miami and most single-family homes are over $250,000 leaving me the option of FHA or Conventional with 3%-5% down as a primary residence. I am willing to spend up to 300k but I do not want to over-leverage myself.

My Goal

My goal is to use whatever property I buy as a jumpstart into the real estate investment business. I do not want to be a flipper but I do not mind buying a property where I can do many aesthetic upgrades to it in order to modernize the exterior and interior. The goal is to perhaps rent out a room in the first property and then when I own 20% equity, do a cash-out refinance in order to buy an actual investment property in the near-ish future. 

Is this an obtainable and intelligent goal? I don't want to make any detrimental mistakes and I want to avoid any pitfalls. This will be by far my biggest purchase and stage of my life so I just want to do it right. Any comments and tips would be GREATLY appreciated. 

Thank you for your time!