I plan to put up a solar camera on the front end of the garage.It should be fully disclosed, there should be a specific purpose for it, and it shouldn't intrude on anyone's privacy.Example: "I have experienced several break-ins over the last two years.

@Chris Crawford, I'm unfamiliar with auction sales, but I get the sense that you will receive offers well below 85%-90% of the property's value. 

His post high school plans the last couple of years was to get his real estate agent license, with the ultimate goal of investing.

It's worth checking out at least :) Also, there's a lot of meet up groups involving real estate in the greater Seattle area, where you could network to learn more information as well.

Agents are able to pull demographic reports for a specific address for you as well.

@John Underwood , I was surprised as well by Joshua Tree's inclusion on the list based on its growth over the last few years.

@Kaias BlancoI will share with you some advice I got when I was about your age… maybe a few years older… I’m now 54… and this advice has served me well through the years; and it sounds so simplistic:   “You are where you are because you choose to be there.”What that means is that the limits as you currently see them are self imposed.  

Lastly, if I get an agent first, can you ask a lender to preform a soft credit check instead of a hard credit check to get a ball park idea of how much you can afford?

To add to what is already posted, you may look at the greater Indianapolis areas like Anderson and Muncie as well - we've been very active in those markets recently.

What is frustrating is that hard money lenders are becoming just like banks with their processes as well.