BRRRR, Fix Flip, taxes, deal analysis, market analysis, marketing, financing, etc.  

Hard to give good advice without more info, but since You are single no kids it's hard to beat buying a single family fixer upper and living in it for two years and then selling for tax free profits....I'm a big fan of Waltham these days $.02 

It should cash flow 400/month after taking taxes/HOA into account.

I am about to graduate college in May 2025, and will be making about $120k (pre tax) in my full time job postgrad (Washington DC area).

If you can rent it for enough to cover the principal, interest, taxes and insurance and still put money in your pocket, plus cash flow on the property you're purchasing, that would be ideal.

You want an investment that pays for itself, including mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and even some money set aside for a reserve to cover vacancies and capital expenditures.

My biggest conundrum now is I want to be my own GC because even when I play with smaller numbers they’re still out of reach for me to be able to attain this goal and afford the monthly mortgage with taxes and insurance.

If you need financial help, ask under the "Finance, Tax, and Legal" forum.

Is your DSCR ratio greater than 1-meaning are you cash flowing (according to the lender's criteria of mortgage, property taxes and insurance (and HOA) if applicable).

Can provide all the benefits from a cash flow and tax perspective.