I'm looking at two options: "very local" multi-families in the Lowell, MA area and property in Florida (where I used to live and have a buddy still there and his wife is a real estate broker and he used to flip/hold houses before the market crashed on him).Both are for income purposes.  

@Mike Hurney,thought about and tried that more than once....under water between 10-15k everytime I had my realtor buddy call in favors to bank appraisors 

Kristine Marie Poe  I have some buddies that bought vegas in the trough and have done very well, much better than anything mid west that's for sure.

So I would recommend you buddy up with a local investor near you that is using hard money and see if they can't give you an introduction and also review your deal for the hard money lender.Ultimately, the hard money lender's real fear is that a new investor simply doesn't know their numbers quite yet.  

I'm looking to purchase a home in New York for about 250 K or under of course, these properties need a little bit of work but might sell for 3 to 350 K depending how much u invest, I wonder if I might be able to contact my real estate buddy so he can find me deals of this sort, talk to the seller or sellers agent and see if we can work a deal where he can sell me the property,  I fix it, get a buyer and have a closing for both buyer n seller, at same time, would that prevent me double closing costs?

I have a dream of owning a huge portfolio of rentals, but I just can't figure out what to do for my first investment.I bought the house I currently reside in and rent the spare rooms out t a couple buddies.

A buddy closed 242 units while deployed.Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info.

I also have some buddies out that way. 

A buddy closed 242 units while deployed.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

A buddy closed several deals including 242 units while deployed.Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info.