Buying without draining my savings...how do I do this?

[Trevor Gies]

I am brand new to BP, but all in! I'm looking to buy my first property and have been researching for months, talking to others doing this already and trying to learn as fast as possible - but i'm struggling to figure out the best option for buying our first investment property. 

I keep hearing "Multifamily" and that sounds awesome, but I don't have the capital to buy a $300k+ property right now on my own and I don't want to drain my savings on my first property. I'm trying to find something under $200k to start...which seems impossible today or if something comes on the market it's gone in less than 24hrs! I'm not opposed to having a partner on a deal, but i've never done that either so trying to figure out what that would look like - do you split the down payment, do you ask them to cover the down payment and they get all of the cash flow for X period of time plus interest?

I've also looked at single family residence and STR, which was my initial plan, but there is hardly anything available in the price range I can afford right now in my area (I want to stay local on my first property and manage myself). I know there are podcasts or books that speak to these and i'm willing to take any advice or recommendations! I want to make a smart financial decision for my family on our first property, so I can do it again on another property as quickly as possible.

I'm stoked to be part of this community and look forward to hearing from those that are in the grind today!