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!

[Bernie Huckestein]

I live and invest in Maine; however, if you can find the right deal I would without question house hack where you are then leverage your Maine contacts for your second property.   For me the only variable would be can you find the right value add play where you are in NJ