Appreciation and cash flow are wonderful as a pair.

Pair up with a local realtor, express to them what you want to do and your investment goals and start making offers! 

A very helpful pair of guys.

Maybe in the future I can pair up with someone that has the same goals as me.

Then when you find a deal, you have a second pair of eyes on it (the lender) and you can negotiate more confidently knowing you have the financial backing.Finding deals without having money lined up is often (not always) putting the cart before the horse.

For SFR and condos some duplexes you can get, as mentioned an FHA loan, but often times you can pair that with Down Payment Assistance Loan.Get some income with a w-2 to get a loan, but you can co-sign with FHA but you should have some income yourself.I would start with a small house or condo, fix it up [FHA 203k Rehab loan] and rent to a roommate or something.

It went as smooth as a 60k rehab could go for a pair of green 18 and 20 year old kids (largely thanks to a solid GC and a 203k seasoned lender).  

As for discounted appliances, I recently purchased a "out of the box" washer and dryer pair, from Best Buy, for about $400 less than the Black Friday sales price.

Currency conversions and getting money over here from other countries does matter as it affects yield.The U.S. dollar has strengthened and the Yuan has started to get weaker.

It's great to have another pair of active investors join the forums.