When someone hears #2 stated above they smell blood and know you don't know anything.

Dampen a rag with paint thinner to get the paint spots off.

@Joseph Duenas when getting conventional loans through a bank another thing to consider once you have a few is your Debt to income ratio starts getting thinner with all the mortgage payments and it takes a couple years to establish the rental income on your taxes to help your DTI increase.

@Gino Barbaro  one of my mentor's and business partners was president of STaufer foods and Beringer wines  ( both Nestle companies)one thing he would always tell me is you have to bring young blood up to replace you.. you cannot move up the ladder if you can't replace yourself and move up.But he was also hands on and never rose above the customer's....

Get some blood and sweat on you.

All 3 years of the blood, sweat, and tears.

It has been getting thinner as the Puget Sound heats up thanks to Seattle, I know that much.

Oh and don't forget, extra job will do two things, decrease Debt to income, plus you can use extra cash for debt payoff or down payment.If you still fall short, you can always sell couple of bottles of blood a month or/and if you still have any energy left, get a third weekend job.I honestly would do all that, not because i want to get into my own house so bad, because getting my first property will give me the taste of blood that real estate investing is.

I'm looking for some great areas to invest in within a 3 hour radius from New York. Frankly it's too expensive over here and I'm itching to get in.

How's Pennsylvania or Connecticut?
Any advise is much appreciated

The margins are getting thinner here and I'm considering other markets now.Stay local for now.Casey