New to Houma, LA and investing

[Rebecca Simpson]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I've just moved to Houma, LA from Anchorage, AK. I am in the Coast Guard, and would like to start getting into investment properties to turn into rentals. I owned a home in Anchorage, but sold it before transferring because I was beginning a pretty strenuous and time consuming training. Now that I am in Houma, I am looking to buy a house to live in for the next 2-3 years and then turn into a rental property when I transfer. I've been listening to the bigger pockets podcast for a while, but am still unsure of how to "Read the market" to determine if I'm getting a good deal. There's a lot of homes that have been on the market for a long time here or are in foreclosure, and that's making me nervous to buy.

Anyone have experience in the area? Or advice on how to best research? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!