Should I worry about the price if tenants will cover mortgage?

[Ibrahim Saad]

Hello everyone. I'm 27 years old, single, and have a W-2 job with a decent salary. I recently got into RE investing and want to invest in a multi-family home and househack with an FHA loan.

I'm in Central Valley California and as you all know the prices of homes have significantly increased over the past 1-2 years. I have enough capital saved up for a down payment at 3.5%. Ideally if the numbers work out, I plan to live in one of the units either for free or even pay a few hundred dollars a month from my pocket to cover the mortgage. I also plan on moving out and leasing the unit I was in after the 1-year mark. That being said, I am flexible and willing to move to a different region if necessary. The goal is to build my RE portfolio. I am not in a rush to make profits from RE ASAP. I want to build equity over time and hopefully obtain that positive cashflow and rental income later on.

My questions:

1. Should I continue to be patient and hope that prices will decrease in the near future? Or should I just try to get a property as soon as possible and start my RE Investing journey? 

2. Should I worry too much about the price of the home if I plan to have a tenant/s who will pay rent and cover the mortgage payment? What else should I consider when it comes to getting my foot in the door and buying my first property when in an expensive market?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Please bare with me if my questions seem basic. I'm excited to learn more and RE investing and I feel like this site is a great place to start asking questions.