Buying & Selling Real Estate
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
![](http://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/assets/forums/sponsors/hospitable-deef083b895516ce26951b0ca48cf8f170861d742d4a4cb6cf5d19396b5eaac6.png)
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
![](http://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/assets/forums/sponsors/equity_trust-2bcce80d03411a9e99a3cbcf4201c034562e18a3fc6eecd3fd22ecd5350c3aa5.avif)
![](http://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/assets/forums/sponsors/equity_1031_exchange-96bbcda3f8ad2d724c0ac759709c7e295979badd52e428240d6eaad5c8eff385.avif)
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated about 5 years ago on . Most recent reply
![Bryce Pappas's profile image](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/social_user/user_avatar/1664214/1621514600-avatar-brycep22.jpg?twic=v1/output=image/cover=128x128&v=2)
Starting my journey
I am brand new to the game. I'm a veteran and I work as a paralegal part time right now - I really want to get into rental property. I have been reading the Brandon turner bigger pockets book, I have been practicing the ROI equations on homes I find online - I just had a few questions.
How do I know what area I should look for a property in? I can't seem to chose a market - I live in Southern California so I feel like it's harder to break through with a power budget than in other markets, should I invest out of state? I do have the VA home loan so in reality I don't need a down payment to start, but I have heard over-leveraging is not a good thing.
As an investor I don’t have an already existing significant income, won’t that make it hard to find a lender?