Potential new investor in Seattle

[Kyle Anderson]

Hello Bigger Pockets!

My name is Kyle and I'm a 23-year-old recent college graduate moving from my home state of Iowa to the Seattle area in two weeks for work. I'd like to give a little background on myself as well as where I envision the future taking me. I'm a software developer by trade and I've been fortunate enough to obtain a high-salary job right out of college with a sign-on bonus that has allowed me to pay off my student loan debt, meaning I have a clean slate (debt wise) to enter the "real world". I have a little bit of money saved up (roughly 15k or so) but I've never invested in anything before and my credit is mediocre. I would consider myself a very goal-oriented person, and while I enjoy the work I do, my next goal is to acquire enough wealth-generating assets to offset my expenses in an effort to become financially independent from my career. Since graduating in May, I've turned my attention towards learning to invest and I'm hopeful that I can use the Bigger Pockets forum as both an educational and networking tool.

I became interested in real estate after stumbling across some YouTube videos a few weeks back and have been falling further down the rabbit hole since. I'm a terrible handyman so I'm not very interested in flipping homes that need a lot of renovation. I'm also slightly intimidated by the concept of being a landlord (again, largely because I'm awful at repairs -- I don't know the validity of that hesitation, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't there) so I'm really intrigued by strategies which avoid or minimize that responsibility. From what I've read, these options can range from simple solutions like hiring a property manager to more complex deals like sandwich leasing with tenant responsible for repairs, but I'm open to any other alternatives with which people have had success.

Another concern I have is the market I'll be living in. Seattle seems to have a booming housing market right now and property prices are expensive (at least from my frame of reference, which is small town Iowa). While I definitely see the merits of owning property in a market with so much growth, I'm nervous about the amount I need to begin investing -- I don't want to make a stupid mistake with my first property and be on the hook for half a million dollars when I could have began investing in cheaper properties elsewhere to gain experience. I realize that living in Seattle doesn't necessarily mean I'm required to invest in Seattle, and this is probably even more valid if I hire a property manager to oversee my investments, but I like the level of comfort afforded by the ability to go and physically see the property I've put my money into. Any advice on beginning to invest and avoiding pitfalls in an expensive market (or investing in areas outside of your physical area of residence) would be warmly received. 

I'm new to investing and I have some tolerance for risk due to my discretionary income and unindebted financial state. With that said, I want to be smart with my money and make sure I'm setting myself up for as much success as possible. I'd like to establish a realistic and goal-driven strategy to begin my endeavors in real estate investing and I'm appreciative of any advice or insight people might have to offer, particularly in light of the aforementioned points of friction.  I look forward to becoming better acquainted with everyone on the forum so don't be afraid to say hello!