Invest in Rural Area in Another State or Where I Live for Renta

[HoJin Lee]

Hello BP Community!

I am very new to real estate investing (almost zero knowledge) and I would love to hear people's opinion on what has been on my mind. 

I worked restlessly for 3 years from a not-well-paying job and was able to save small amount of money. I thought that, instead of letting it sit in my bank, it would be a great idea to invest in real estate and work toward financial freedom. 

Currently, one option I am looking at is asking a friend, who is a builder, to build a multi-family house (3-4 units inside) in my home state (ME) where health care professionals, retirees, and college students are for rental.  Another option is, since I am currently renting an apartment in NJ, buying a duplex or house then rent out a room or one section while I live with the tenant.

I would very appreciated if anyone could give an advice on which route would be great to take and what type of loan. Or even there is a better and smarter real estate investment idea. 

Please feel free to ask me if there is any information I could provide which could help determining a good investment.

Other information

Credit score : around 750

Loan amount looking for : 300,000 - 350,000

Home state : might qualify for USDA loan

Thank you again for reading my post!