Seeking Advice - Unmarried Couple Building Real Estate Portfolio

[Sean Brennan]

Hi BiggerPockets community, my fiance and I are first time home buyers, and ultimately looking for advice on which of the following options below will help us scale our real estate wealth quicker. We are currently renting, but have both been pre-approved separately in the Bay Area for conventional loans, but we are unsure if we should both buy in the Bay Area. I also have an interest in investing out of state, but if I invest out of state, I would miss out on putting a low down payment as a first time home buyer.

In summary, here are the options we are considering - 

1) Buy two primary residence (duplex or single family with adu) in the next 1-2 years in the Bay Area at lowest down payment possible (3-10%). Convert into rental properties 2-3 years.

2) Buy one primary residence in the Bay Area and one rental property out of state in the next 6 months. Convert Bay Area property into rental property in 1-2 years.

Following conversion of the primary(s) into rental property, we would love to establish our forever home in California. Between then and now, we would love to make more investments to continue building wealth.