@Rachel Mutts You are exactly where most investors were when they started. The way I broke out of my analysis paralysis was to take one small step every day towards buying a place (all while saving money in the background). For me, it looked something like this:
Day One- Researched best real estate rental markets on google. Found a handful of midwest cities
Day Two- Chose one city, Indianapolis, due to the strong rental market and increasing population (among a list of other good things)
Day Three- Found a Realtor in that area by searching on BiggerPockets "Network" Tab. My Realtor was investor-friendly which is why she listed herself on BP. Told her what I was looking for which was Single Family 3 bedroom 1+ bath under $80k
I then got referrals for nearly everyone else on my team from my Realtor, and eventually, my Property Manager. It took me a couple of months after that to finally close on a property, but taking those small steps each day were all I needed.
Don't beat yourself up over indecision. You'll have times you are rocking and rolling and others where you are stuck because you are over-analyzing, or just don't know what to do. On those days, just take one small step forward. No one on this site was an overnight success.
