The area that I'm eventually looking to purchase in is orange county, and I plan on living in one of the units and acting as the landlord.  

Hi Latha,I am just south of you in Orange County, Any questions I will do what I can to help.

@John ThedfordYou have made this point several times on BP and while I understand your thinking, I must respectfully state that you are missing the point.Comparing investing in real estate inside of an IRA to investing in real estate outside of an IRA is comparing apples and oranges.  

I plan to read both of them as I have already purchased them both but unsure which one to read first.First - The book on Rental Property InvestingSecond - The book on Flipping Houses.Now I know I can't expect to compare apples to oranges but does one book have more "general" or "common" or "basic" learning material than other?

The orange areas are places I would like to invest in based on a metric I made up trying to find places with a good rate of return while still being in reasonable areas.

Since my wife and I would like to make real estate our full time, I would like to network with as many people as possible so we can help each other out, especially those in the Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire, and Orange County areas.

Still young (22 next month) but I want to look to see how I can begin my path to financial freedom.I should be graduating with an Associates in Business Management this December, I’m a numbers kind of guy and like to think I’m ambitious.The Southern California market, Orange County in particular is where I’ve lived almost my entire life and investing in real estate seems almost impossible to start down here.Looking for general advice, tips, connections, really anything on what I should really look into in this high $ hot market.I appreciate all the responses in advance!

A nice price drop once you leave Westchester County going up into Putnam, Orange and Dutchess.

Hi Ryan and Dean - I too have purchased a handful of properties in Orange County, NY and am looking for more good deals.

Any other investors and/or real estate professionals out there in the Hudson Valley (Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Ulster) that would like to connect?