It is full of tourists, the #2 destination in the U.S. for weddings.

Then do it by comps.We live in Charlottesville,  which is an upscale destination for wine tours, UVA alumni reunions, weddings, and tourists visiting the local history.   

My wife and I have the goal of building a wedding barn on our acreage. 

I’m looking into using this as our primary residence as a newly weds (will get married in May) and will be our starter home.

While I am new and probably not the best person to offer proper real estate investing advice at this point, I can tell you that one of the common themes I hear from talking to many successful investors echoes what @Jay Helms said above.

@Jimmy Dudley  its sort of depends on where you live and closing customs.for instance on the west coast there is no such thing as a wet closing.. or having all parties come to the closing table.. simply never happens.so when we sell something here I usually go in and sign ( if I want to I can also just have them e mail docs and I sign and they send a courier to my office.. )this is done 2 to 10 days before closing.. then the buyers come in the 3 days before usually because they have their 3 day right of recession ( owner occ mortgages)  then the loan package goes back to the lender.. then the title company has to record in the morning.. and has to send recording numbers to the lender then the lender funds.. then the next day once this is done title company will cut checks or wire proceeds.. for us 100% wires we never get checks.. its always kind of comical when I am sitting in my office in Oregon closing a deal in some east coast state and the closing attorney sends me an email with the time of the closing and wants to know if that time is good for me like I am really going to be there..

Hey it’s my first post on BP, i’m trying to get more involved on the forums and the site in general because i’ve heard from almost everyone on the podcasts that it’s been a tremendous help for them. So i’m just starti...

I would personally keep a lifestyle theme more at the center of this decision.

I dedicate an hour of my week each and every week to discuss real estate strategies/network with new to experienced investors We meet every Wed would love to meet you there. see details below https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/529240-wednesday-coffee-with-investorsMy team also meets once a month for a larger Real estate meetuphttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/543296-second-tuesday-monthly-networkingWould love to see you at either of these events absolutely free hopefully you will be able to connect with other investors and add value to each others investing goals

If I may ask, What made you choose an investment in the Bay Area versus other states which seem to be the popular themes on this forum?