Admittedly, I put a bit too much emphasis on the lowest possible interest rate, which the VA loan seemed to offer at the time.Cheers and have a great day!

SFRs will appreciate or depreciate with the market (which has been quite hot for several years), with less emphasis on how much you rent a particular unit for.

@Zain Butt a Bachelor of Science in Business, depending on the specific emphasis(mine was Marketing), exposed me to valuable fundamental knowledge about economics, finance, management, marketing, communication, technology, statistical analysis and consumer behavior.All good things to know for the RE game, and as long as your parents are financially capable and you are not going into extensive(or any) debt in order to acquire the knowledge, it will serve you well.Also, like others have posted, the degree is not the be all end all, and many successful RE investors are without a college degree...but for some RE related fields that are great compliment to your future plans, it is essential...FYI, most commercial loan broker, commercial bankers, commercial RE brokers, lawyers and accountants. that I work with, all have undergraduate degrees, at least. 

I got a bachelors degree in entrepreneurship with an emphasis in real estate from Wichita State back in 2008.  

I would recommend placing less emphasis on specific cities and rather invest in markets you know.  

I added the emphasis in the bolded sentence.

If you delead (and maintain the standard) you will be in the clear.Here's the law (emphasis added by me):460.100: Duty of Owner(s) of Residential Premises (B) Whenever any residential premises containing dangerous levels of lead in paint, plaster or other accessible structural material undergoes a change of ownership and as a result a child younger than six years old will become or will continue to be a resident therein, the new owner shall have 90 days after becoming the owner to obtain a Letter of Full Compliance or a Letter of Interim Control, except that if a child younger than six years old who is lead poisoned resides therein, the owner shall not be eligible for interim control, unless the Director grants a waiver pursuant to 105 CMR 460.100(A)(3).

This emphasis my point about why buying at the right price is so important.

You can take the above as a snotty remark or emphasis on what I am about to recommend.Join a Military investing forum.

Ideally, I would like to start with a duplex, triplex or fourplex in the $200K to $300K range with an emphasis on cash flow.