Inland, yes, it's funky/charming, but our realtor and a friend who ran a hotel there let us know there is a drug problem in quite a few areas, especially the closer you are to Rt. 1.

I didn't sell to a starting out landlord who went to a weekend seminar and thinks they can build a rental empire with no money down.I'm no expert and I'm sure other folks here have complex worksheets for seller financing, but I feel like the above worked for me.

Eventually you’ll jump into positive cash flow while also building a little multi family empire.

Would you invest locally, look for another market to invest, or continue to save before starting your empire?

The Inland Empire and LA county have a higher potential.

If you were really motivated, you could amass a whole empire of real estate by obtaining homes for no money down by owners who are desperate to sell and will allow you to take them off their hands cheap.

The inland empire and regions around there are expanding very quickly, and so that's another option.

@Jack B.This reminds me of a great interview i once read about, I believe it was with Henry Ford at the peak of his empire. 

I've borrowed from a dozen different hard money lenders, including most of the local ones like Eastside, Veristone, Inland, RFG, Builder's Cap, and Intrust. 

Phoenix is showing good appreciation right now so in 10 years you could cash out and retire comfortably or hire a property manager and enjoy the monthly cash flow and hand over an empire to your family.