California Registered Nurse looking to get into real estate

[Julian Sung]

Hi,

I'm a 26 y/o Registered Nurse (2 years experience) from Los Angeles and I've always had an interest in real estate investing. I've been lurking on BiggerPockets for about 3 years now but finally decided to post about it.

I have two major goals I want to accomplish within the next 1.5 to 2 years, I'm currently able to save about $4000 per month and hoping to have 100k by December of 2019, if it all goes as planned. I have a good chunk of change saved up already.

1) buy or build my family of 6 (parents, siblings, and myself) a home in Los Angeles county, max 45 minutes from the coast. We've been renting for our entire lives, cramped into a 3 bed/2 bath.

-the area I want to live, the homes cost roughly 500-800k for a decent size 4-5 bedroom home. Thats why my goal is to save as much as possible for a good size down payment.

2) dip my feet into real estate investing (looking at options: flipping and/or buy&hold rentals). I'm currently looking at the Dallas, TX area because my brother just moved there for work and hopefully he can manage it for me. But also willing to look at other locations if the price is right with good returns.

-I don't want to spend too much on my first rental property as I'm just testing it out

-multifamily units would be great

-Market in California seems too pricey for me to easily get into real estate investing

My main concern is.. if I buy a rental property out in Texas, will I lose out on the benefits of being a first time home buyer in California when it comes time to buy my family a home?

Other concerns... 

-are first time home buyer benefits any good at all?

-how will owning a rental property change my taxes (how I file, how much will I owe at the end of the year, will it be beneficial, should I get together with a financial advisor, etc)? 

-what do you think about my goals, is it feasible?

-that's all that comes to mind right now.. but if you know of anything I should be aware of, I'm all ears and willing to listen.

Thank you so much in advance, I really appreciate any input.

[Travis Rasmussen]

@Julian Sung

First off--AWESOME on saving $4000/mo. You're killing it! Also, nursing is a tough career--thank you for the work you do.

In terms of First Time Homebuyer, the best thing you have going for you is an FHA which allows you to put 3.5% down on your first property--if it's your primary residence. This allows you to get into a home with a much lower down payment. Technically, the loan "costs more" but the benefit of buying with only 3.5% down is fantastic if you buy right.

Where primarily in Los Angeles are you thinking about buying the house for your family? It is definitely a costly market but sometimes you can go outside and find a great deal. Does your family need to stay in that exact market?