If you don't plan on doing agent business outside of your own transactions, just choose the best split and lowest fees, but you won't learn anything about doing the deals for yourself that way.

I moved from Florida to start investing in Columbus due to the same reason.https://www.zillow.com/learn/hottest-housing-markets-2024/

This way you can ramp up your savings AND learn some RE skills.2.

The better you learn your market the better you will do.

These are all lessons learned early on.

Lessons learned?

For starters, the BiggerPockets Podcast is a valuable resource for learning.

The only thing I've learned in this ongoing thread is that California is a screwed up state that has nothing better to do than crap regulations out their butt.   

Lessons learned?

Good luck, it is not easy to invest in because, among other things, you need a whole lot of knowledge, there are huge barriers to entry, and unless you literally know someone with experience, it is difficult to really learn.