Best advice for someone who wants to invest in RE and needs to build retirement and get cash flow

[Juliette V.]

I'm starting my RE portfolio, and I'm very excited but I'm also overwhelmed. 

I currently have a 250,000 loan which I am going to invest in Nashville-this summer.  Very soon.  I'm moving to Nashville this fall, and I'm so torn on how to work this magic and try to think as a investor. 

I will need to live in one of the of the places I buy, maybe rent a room for extra income.  

So, this is why I'm torn---emotional versus investment, old vs more expensive and new etc.

$250,000 - I have options there.  In SoCal, I don't. 

You can buy homes and decent condos for $125,000.  You can even buy older homes that may need some work for $60,000 in areas that demand about $750-$850 in rent--and they are located near downtown which is going through major transition from low income -- up.  Or you can buy a brand new home 2 minutes from downtown in a transitional neighborhood (but that uses my whole lump sum) or buy a beautiful home in the country 15 minutes from the city with $250,000.. 

Right outside of downtown Nashville--in an area of transition--there's a new baseball stadium going in.  That seems to me that it will attract great crowds, music, concerts...and I feel like the growth will continue to grow and get nice in that area with that kind of numbers flowing through there.  It just makes sense to me, but I could be wrong...

Here's the info...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln4xitRfzKA

I'm overwhelmed by "options"  and I also feel like maybe I should just buy one property--because it seems crazy but also smart to buy more if I can=now.  But, considering I only own 1 condo---I feel I shouldn't get too ahead of myself. 

Can someone help after sorting through my rambling and if you had the same scenario - what would you do?  Also, near downtown or suburbia?

Thank you for listening and reading!

[Nuhan Demirkan]

Am I crazy to think that it is irresponsible to recommend her to borrow $250K when she is planning on quitting her job and moving to a new state where she does not have a new job lined up? Plus she wants to keep her condo in SD as a rental? My recommendation would be to sell your condo in SD (hopefully you have some equity). Take the cash and put it with your existing cash. You're gonna need it starting out new in Nashville. Rent for a year, learn the market, educate yourself in different investing strategies. Keep your expenses low until you find a good paying job. Then start looking into investing. I know you will lose the opportunity to borrow the $250K. But it just doesn't make sense to borrow when you don't have any income. Your plan is very risky. 

Good luck