Purchasing Duplex/Triplex

[Andrew Lacy]

Hello all,

I just joined the site and am really grateful for all the insight and information that I have been provided just by lurking.  I am 25 years old and will be graduating from law school next month.  I have no savings and a lot of debt.  But fortunately, I will be taking a job in Pittsburgh making over six figures.

I figured that I could go two ways. I could start paying off my debt aggressively or pay the minimum on my debt and start investing. Investing sounds like a better option. My plan is to aggressively save for the next 9 months and purchase a multi-family house in Pittsburgh. I would live in one side and take an FHA to save additional funds for another purchase/investment.

My question about the first purchase is that I would like to live in a nice area with a nice place.  I would like a place that would cash flow positively when I move out.  But I'd rather live in a nice place and sacrifice some cash flow.  I am just wondering if it is an okay plan to look for a place that I am comfortable in even if some other less expensive options provide better cash flow in an area that I do not want to live or a house that has not been updated enough for my tastes?  

I am really open to learning and have really just thought about real estate investing for the first time a few days ago. Over the next 9 months I plan to read every book out there about REI and hopefully gain a good foundation of learning in this area.