Stay engaged and you will find so many doors open to you.

So I'd recommend using your VA (30years) to find a house that you can live comfortably and using your 20% downpayment for the future rental with more then likely a different bank.

With a qualification of 160K I originally wanted to be conservative and stay under 100k.  

Are you comfortable working in this neighborhood with this type of clientele?

Read books on investing in real estate, listen to the podcasts, attend webinars and stay active on the forums while connecting with other investors in your area and pick a niche.

If necessary, I would potentially use any other income sources to speed up, stay on target or address pain points.I'm suggesting a 10 year time frame as a ball park because I will use any additional income to speed this process along.

Get in touch and stay in touch! 

-Nail down a close market rent for the area and get a better sense of the realistic expenses -Analyze 1 deal everyday until I get comfortable doing it.

Read books on investing in real estate, listen to the podcasts, attend webinars and stay active on the forums while connecting with other investors in your area and pick a niche.

If you stay in Palm beach area then go into the area called the "acreage"  good deals back in there and plenty of growth.