I'm Eric - my wife and I are exploring purchasing our first rental property, ideally in the Pittsburgh area (especially the South Hills).

My 2 bits.Invest locally, ideally within 30 minutes or somewhere you can drive to within half a day, (Las Cruces, Sierra Bianca or to Tucson or Midland) first.

Purchase price: $1,870,000 Cash invested: $300,000Offering a sliver of ocean view from upstairs, plus an ideal setting conveniently close to the area's most popular shops and restaurants, there's plenty to love in this location.

I am 29, single, employed, have ample savings, a full VA loan, and am pre approved for 550k, and looking within an hour of the dc metro area, ideally Harford county MD due to the good schools and military bases near by. 

Anyone have any recommendations for any of the following:-Local fix/flip mastermind groups or general real estate investing groups-Reputable hard money lenders with a good reputation - ideally one that has reliable contractor references-Fix/flip friendly contractors-Fix/flip friendly agent that has hyper-local market knowledge of North Dallas markets-Wholesalers worth talking to

I'm looking for multi-family (ideally a fourplex) in Fresno, CA around $350K.

Ideally i’d like to do something similar with Airbnb but that wouldn't be until I’m in more of a vacation like area. 

A lot of the food/bar scene is centralized in downtown Denver, so it's not ideal. 

I know people say that, and it is ideal, but it is difficult, especially in growing markets.

You picked the wrong kind of property to start in as a 3/3.1 townhouse is not ideal for room hacking and is more residential in nature which is why you should sell it and take the proceeds and deposit money and look for a two-family where you and your brother can live in one side and you can full rent the other side - maybe even as a mid-term rental to 2x the rent.