Newbie from Seattle - So. Much. Information.

[Stephanie S.]

Hey Bigger Pockets! I'm Stephanie and I'm currently a renter in the lovely Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.  In Dec '16, I was on vacation in Colombia and met a guy from CLE who was getting his feet wet in real estate investing and recommended this site to me.  I might be in the wrong spot, but I'm looking to educate myself as a first time home buyer.  The Seattle market is a little crazy, I have too many people with different opinions chirping in my ear about home buying, so here I am.  

I'm looking to figure out what direction I want to take in home or condo buying. I got stupid lucky and found a wonderful 1-bdr room in Queen Anne that I'm renting. I see myself in QA but literally need bigger pockets or just more zeros in the bank account to afford to live or buy in this neighborhood. I'm 27, not married, and am savvy with my money but am totally over my head in real estate. If you have a suggestion on where to start, or would be willing to grab coffee to steer me in the right direction, I'm all ears. I have the mindset that I want to put 20% down so I don't have to deal with mortgage insurance but in SEA that's A LOT of money.  I need to figure out 1. if I should buy 2. What I can afford 3. What to buy 4. everything else 

Thank you all! 

SS