Help! First Real Estate Investment Strategy

[Grant Steiner]

Hello BP community,

I am a new real estate investor and looking to get some advice on my first property purchase. I am 26 years old and reside in Minneapolis, MN. 

In an ideal world, I want to purchase a house/duplex that I could live in and rent out to friends for a year or two before turning it into a full-time rental property. This property location might not be exactly where I would like to live in 2 years if I get married, so I am wondering how big of an impact it would have when I try to get another mortgage on a second property? Has anyone else done something similar or is there a better strategy that I could try for my first real estate investment?