Beginner Real Estate Investing in PG County Maryland

[Taylor Washington]

Hello Bigger Pockets Community!

I was hoping to get some input from people in this forum. I am a 25 year old fairly recent grad (2 years out of college) looking to purchase a home and get into real estate investing. I'm just not sure to go about it. I have about $30,000 in student loan debt and $5,000 in credit card debt (car repairs and such). I currently live at home and do not pay rent, my current income before taxes in $48,000 annually. However, I will be starting a job in the new year where my salary will increase to $70,000 annually. Most of the money for the down payment will come from my parents as a gift, they will be selling their house in the next few months and giving me part of the profit to give me a kind of "head start" in life. Here are my questions/options as I see them. Should I:

1. Purchase a home as a primary place to live, and wait a few years to purchase another property as a rental. Most properties in my price range in my area are condos and/or town homes

2. Purchase a cheap rental property with a higher cash flow and then use my income to rent an apartment

3. use the full amount I will receive from my parents on the down payment (lets say about $10,000) or should I use half to clear my credit card debt and the other half on purchasing a home? 

Just looking for some insight here. I know many home owners so I do have some insight as to how the process works, but nobody in my immediate circle has every approached the process from the perspective of an investor. Thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully give some helpful input.