Goal/Down Payment Question

[Tyler McLeod]

Hey all,

I have decided I am going to save $20,000 by December 2015 to get ready for a down payment on my first home. Is this enough for a house these days? I've read of people saving more than that depending on the house price and other factors.

After that, I plan to save the same amount in the same timeframe by 2017 to get ready to buy and hold in rental properties. I would like to start small in terms of what kinds of property I want to invest in - such as multi-family homes. Eventually after getting experience with actually investing, I want to move to larger (5-50 unit) apartment complexes.

This is just a quick rundown, but are these good/realistic goals? With a $20,000 down payment, what kinds of real estate could I reasonably afford with my goals?