New young 1st time hopeful future home owner in Nor Cal!

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Well, the title says it all. I am 23 and hoping to become a homeowner. I have tried my hand at business (owned two and managed one). I am currently working on a new business and teaching part time. I do not have a big budget, but as everyone on here probably knows, property is the smartest investment you can make. Throwing away money on rent is not fun. Sure you get a roof over your head, but once you move you have nothing to show for it...

So my time has come. After renting two places (one paying 2,250 a month at) I realized I should focus on buying. I am hoping to get a great deal on a potential future foreclosure. I am currently living near San Jose and hope to stay in the south bay area. Which is absolutely RIPE with foreclosures.

Any advice, or maybe even some local people that could lend a hand would be so amazing. I am planning on finding a house in poor condition, and fixing it up two sell in about 2 years from now (obviously for tax reasons). I hope to find a 3bd 2ba or more to rent out a few rooms. I also have plans for fixing the place up, enclosed patio, remodel baths etc... Well that is all a dream till I find a place.

Now the kicker, I am trying to do this in a time crunch... I know never a good idea. I just found out the place I am renting is being sold, so I have about 30 days... If not I may be forced into renting again. I am tired of dead beat landlords, spending my time, energy, and money to fix up someone else's house and not having the financial security of home ownership . So am I being realistic on my time frame? Is there a way to go about this quickly?

I would love to start moving my life forward in the right direction. Wonderful girl in my life, decent job, good future business, now I just need to get all my person affairs in order and make smart investments. Thanks again for any help... I look forward to actively participating in the forum!