Invest Locally in Los Angeles or Out of State?

[Roman Rida]

Hi Biggerpockets. I am a new investor out of Los Angeles, CA and I was wondering if its better to save up for a primary residence prior to purchasing investment properties out of state. I have a 100k nest egg that I want to use to invest or buy a home and the price of real estate in LA is astronomically high, even if I want to house hack. I would need to purchase something around the 850-1.1M range to make this work, as I have a family to support and I am not looking to move to Compton, Inglewood, Long Beach or deal with living three hours north of the city. I currently pay $3500 in rent and would obviously love to pay that towards a mortgage, however I am wondering if it makes sense to buy a few rental properties in the next 90 days in the midwest, and begin building a buy and hold cashflow portfolio that eventually will enable me invest and buy locally. I like the idea of starting off with a single family house and then buying a duplex or triplex as my next move, and I wanted to get some feedback from you guys to see what you would recommend in my situation. Also, I am a little nervous about it being an election year and the effect this can have on the market, so I am wondering if its risky buying in the midwest.I plan on holding on to these properties and I feel like I can wether a storm, should it occur, however buying high and waiting for it to go back up doesn't sound exciting. Thank you for your feedback!