I am in the early stages of my rental property investment career, still saving money for my first property and reading up on investing strategies/advice. However, I have started taking action to see what I can afford through pre-approval, and keeping an eye out for potential deals through a real estate agent and apps like Zillow and Redfin. 

I found what I believed to be a great deal, out of my price range, but the thought process was still the same. After all the fees and monthly payments for this 3 BR property, you would owe about $600 less than the current rental rate in that neighborhood. I was of the mindset that IF I could afford it I could house hack it for a year before potentially renting it out fully. However, my loan officer rather than tell me HOW I can do something told me I CANT do something in his exact words, "You can't even think about a rental property here, you must occupy any residence you buy my friend!"

I want a team that is not going to shoot me down but help me up. Looking for suggestions on Loan Officers or RPI advice for first time buyers in SoCal.

Thank you all!