I have attended local meetups so that I can have a handful of experienced folks who have resources to share.  

You’re absolutely right—LA is a tough but opportunity-rich market, and I’m putting in the groundwork to make the most of it.While I’m starting local in LA, my focus is expanding across California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington.

Pricing in DFW probably means you wont live rent free,and will have to pay your fair share of normal rent, but you also get 3 more people contributing to your loan paydown and you get to keep the appreciation.Buy hey...maybe I'm wrong....go talk to a local bank or credit union near where you live and get a term sheet from them for financing. 

Having watched many prior co-workers get paid, cash their check at the casino, and promptly deposit it all into a slot machine I can tell you with pretty good certainty that casinos don't have a positive effect on disposable income and good use of the existing income in the area surrounding :)Are there solid local employers OTHER than the casino in a 15-minute drive? 

My first ad budget was $295.00 credit I got from my local news paper. 

Detroit is very much a block-by-block city, so having local knowledge is absolutely critical.

The front end can sometimes be tedious to get approved by the local housing authority, but rent payments are always timely.

To be honest, I´m in the Maintenance & Construction for corporate businesses for some US companies in Mexico and we do some Real Estate down here also, but it´s way much different than the US, so I have much to learn from a lot of people around here and as @Julio Gonzalez, I think this is pretty much the right pad and place to start and to break my fears to start all over again from scratchAlso, I´ld like to hear more from @Justin Brickman why he voted for his city, pros and cons, it will help to read from a local...As I said before, thank you all guys for taking the time to write in this post and share some experienceDo you plan to owner occupy. $40k will not get you a non owner occupied San Diego property unless you find some unlikely alternate financing.

If your local market is very active and homes are selling fast, you may be able to get by with doing less.Your Home’s Condition: If your home is vacant or has a unique layout, using a professional stager who can bring in the right furniture and accessories may help buyers truly visualize its full potential.Your Budget: Talk to your agent to get an idea of staging costs in your area, as it can be the difference between your house selling and sitting.

You can find the most recent sales price for the property on the local tax records website or by doing a quick search on Zillow.