If you are just starting out, this is for you:When you buy an investment property, it is treated differently than a house you are going to live in. 

Need to buy all again.Had stocked packed linen closet but not anymore..need to stock again. 

I took quite a break from buying properties and now on the hunt again.

Your investment property - This you could do a 1031 exchange on and buy another property you intend to use for investment. 

@Fabio Cattolico"if I could get an out of state property for a great price and the numbers seem promising, wouldn't it be good to start off like that if I'm in a place where buying is unaffordable?"

It's also rare you buy these properties with 20-25% and have NOTHING you need to address almost immediately in terms of repairs or capex. 

These included cash buys for flips, seller financing, and subject-to deals.

Denver is very expensive for a new guy who doesn't have loads of capital so a market like Missouri for example is intriguing for far cheaper real estate but then Id either have to move, improve the property remotely or simply buy and hold as a rental for X time. 

The ability to effectively self manage would depend on the scale you are trying to buy. 

Quote from @Jesse Rivera: I disagree about buying in CA.