Beginner Investor Seeking Advice

[David G West]

Hello BP community! I'm a beginner looking for advice. I'm a recent college graduate looking to start my investment journey in real estate.

I currently have about 2/3 amount of debt ($30k in student and auto loans) as I do in assets ($17k cash, $25k in stock market & roth 401(k)).

I would like to invest while rates are still low (looking at August/September). Ideally, I would prefer to house-hack where I live/work in Southern California (looking at $600-$750k duplex+ possible ADU). However I'm also looking into long-distance rentals since housing is crazy expensive here and I want to begin investing sooner rather than later.

With all that being said I have a few questions I need help answering:

1. Would it be best to pay off all my debt before I make a purchase? Student loans are in forbearance until the end of September so I can wait to start paying those and save for a downpayment instead.

2. Should I pull money out of my stock portfolio and/or 401(k) (in form of a loan) to get cash for a downpayment? I will likely working 1099 instead of W-2 come June.

3. To avoid analysis paralysis, should I just commit to a house-hack style even if SoCal is a sky-high market?

I may have answered #3 for myself in the question but I'm worried I won't have enough for a downpayment to compete in the SoCal market. The question also relies on answers to 1 and 2 since the more funds I have accumulated, I'm guessing it will give me a better chance to finance and close a deal.