I would say, focus on a market you know, out of state and multiple states might not be a good idea when you are just a beginner unless you choose the market you used to live, go to college, grew up, etc, a market you know.Play the devil's advocate game with a friend that's an investor and you should be able to find what you are comfortable doing.

Without being too specific, here's the scenario for a friend:A young college student wants to buy an investment property; it's a small apartment building with 11 units.

Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg is great because of the college and hospital.

Lease for utility payments/mortgage/taxes directly with the consideration paid to his kids' college fund or something.

I took an A/C course at the junior college, taught by the HVAC guy who was a sponsor of, and frequent guest on, the local home handy man radio show.

You could rent to young college kids in areas with a great night life or you could rent to families in areas closer to good schools, or you could rent to working class tenants or even section 8.  

There are some old Victorian homes in Colorado Springs near the colleges and universities (downtown and north end).

Here I went to school, found my first job at 14, and went to college at Stony Brook University.

It seems like the market's been so hot in Bryan/College Station that it may not be a bad idea to sell and roll the proceeds into something bigger and better.

Ladies and gents,I am currently grinding out the required hours of education with the somewhat overly optimistic goal of being at least ready to test by the end of my college semester so I can dedicate all of my time to being an agent.