Strategic advice needed for first rental property (Palm Beach,FL)

[Brandon C.]

Hello BiggerPockets Community! I'm 27, single, and work full-time as a corporate project manager and merchant/buyer; coordinating and often negotiating between many internal business units and external partners/vendors. I'm looking to buy my first rental property to create passive income, and I have loads of questions! 

I live in Palm Beach County and real estate can be very pricey around here. I am starting with ~$3K in savings, and my goal this year is to generate $500-$1000 cashflow per month. Does anyone have some solid advice for achieving this goal? 

What kind of financing options should I pursue besides 20% down loans? BRRR?

What kinds of properties can I start with? I'd like to take advantage of economies of scale as much as possible, so maybe MFR?

Where can I get data to analyze? I am proficient in data mining and business intelligence, and could make great use of those skills if I have a solid data source (demographic, economic, regional/location sales history, etc).

I am eager to start my real estate investing journey, and start sharing knowledge with y'all!

Thank you,

-Brando