Trying to rock Rockland county

[Aram Hambardzumyan]

Hi all,

Newbie here... so bear with me, please. New to REI but want to go big. Quick background recap - own a condo, $150K loan, property should cost around $190K. looking to buy a buy-and-hold, in $200K-$250K range in Rockland county. I'm thinking single family house or a 2-3 bedroom condo. Have about $40K on hand but would prefer to not spend any of it yet. Very nervous about spending my last penny (literally) but really want to start with this RE thing. Read some books (good stuff, Brandon), understand the basics but have some questions that boil down to this:

1. Does anyone have any advice regarding investing in Rockland county - Spring Valley, Suffern, Nanuet, New City? Single family houses or condos?

2. Does anyone know a good RE agent or anyone who is selling that they can refer me to? I know a few agents but not personally so can't be sure how much to trust them. 

I'm sure these questions have been asked a thousand times before but would appreciate any help or advice.

Thanks, all.

Aram