I would like to thank everyone for their insights and expertise in response to my introduction. This is why I knew that this would be a business for me, the support and the wealth of knowledge is incredible.
@Russell Brazil It seems based on what you said that maybe flipping is not the right option for a first time buyer in the DMV, unless you come to the table with the necessary capital. For my particular scenario it might be something that I wait to do until I have more of the project costs covered. Might be too risky for my first investment, unless an off market deal pops up as a golden egg, as suggested by @Dan Bernstein. As you can probably tell, networking is one of my primary methods of learning about the market here.
I think I might stick to more of what the other options were, also mentioned by @David Fernandez and @Michael Garofalo. I think my most important task at this point is to define a clear goal, which this conversation has certainly began to shape.
I see two options at the moment :
1. Single family/town home in a ~ 1hr drive radius of the beltway to "house hack" and rent rooms. Large square footage and maybe something that has the potential for equity through remodeling or maybe enough space to build another bedroom/bath. One thing I'm not sure of is location in this case, I suppose I could either look in a well established area and expect equity to increase through remodeling or in a less desirable area that I'm gambling will attract more attention in the future. Another decision point here is what to do when it's time for me to look for my next home, do I sell or hold and rent out the rooms in the house to single renters? Has anyone had experience with renting single rooms in a SFR while not living there?
2. Single family/townhome in NE or SE DC in a less desirable neighborhood. This will definitely be a place that has a lot of remodeling work to put in with the hope (I'm confident) that the gentrification that is taking place here will continue. Also will be house hacking and renting rooms to single renters, taking on the risk of the type of renter that could pop up. I will also definitely be looking to tap into people's knowledge about finding a good renter.
If anyone is interested we could always take these conversations off of this thread. I just want you all to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me, a little information from you goes such a long way for a newbie and I already feel welcome here!
