I'd highly recommend house hacking in your local market since you're in one of the highest cost of living areas in the US, especially if you're renting currently and planning on staying in the area for 5-10 years.It sounds sexy to go out and invest out of state for your first property.

I'm hoping to do an FHA 203(k) within the first half of this year and eventually rent it out after living in it for about 2 years.

I currently live in the Bay Area, but I’ve decided to start investing in the Jackson County/MO area.

I used to live in Louisville KY and now I am in Tampa Florida. 

@Benjamin Goodman gives a good example referencing live in flips. 

Hopefully you already worked this out.Aside from HML, there's also an option to do a live-in-flip, where you live in the house for a year and renovate it slowly.

Hey @Spencer Cuello, so you will find most of us aren't fans of arbitrage.I see you listed NYC so you know that you can't do a STR in the city unless you live there.IE: You need to be onsite, living in the same unit you are going to rent.As per usual...

I too live in Asheville, so Sapphire was closer than Cashiers and Highlands.

Good to know as I have a property coming on the market and we had one off market offer already all cash but at 10% list price discount (which we most likely will reject).Curious if you think the california fires will assist the market since many of those people need places to live for years and I am guessing some will flee california?

It wasn't fun living an hour and a half from work and play, but absolutely worth it.If one is starting with relatively low living expenses, cash flow can be extremely powerful towards reaching financial freedom.