It seems easier to be a RE agent in an area you're already familiar with, but with such incredibly low inventory I'd imagine it's tough to make a living with all of the agent competition out there.My gut tells me to just find wherever my new job is going to be and then look into the investment side of things. 

I bought my first home April of last year, and I'm beginning my search for my next investment property.Seems like the inventory is still low around here, but the prices have leveled out a bit no? 

Ethan Schneider if you have the money to put down the VA Loan is often less desirable than other loans, particularly because listing agents and therefore sellers will often encourage sellers to go with another equal offer of conventional.

I have a duplex under contract that I plan to move into, preferably FHA (immediate occupancy) or Conventional (60 days).

 @Heather Hopkins I would consider the triangle as well...lots of inventory and still deals to be had if play the game correctly.

I have no experience with conventional financing.

If your plans include 5+ flips a year this may be a worthwhile investment.This is just my insight and subject to change once the inventory begins to meet demand. 

A conventional lender is not going to loan money without a steady stream of income. 

With Residential properties you can get conventional Freddie/Fannie financing amortization over 30 years.  

@Skyler HarrisI've seen a lot of good points about how best to evaluate the issue, but I haven't seen anyone mention the fact that if you are trying to finance the home using conventional financing you might not be able to.