Perhaps your first step is buy your primary first 3.bed / 2 bath SFH in the best neighborhood you can afford.

The only CA people that invest in the Midwest are poor people that can't afford the CA market or ignorant people that can't figure that profit trumps "cash faux" or are too inexperienced that they can't figger how to leverage into this more profitable area.The best thing a newbie can do is understand what a MARKET is.

Thanks @Linval T. for all the great tips on where to find info.

However if you can afford it there are plenty of people who will pay to live their.

I am a 48 y/o recently divorced mother of 3 and as such it is time to begin living my dream and making ridiculous amounts of money while engaging in my passion of flipping and managing residential properties.I am the executive director of a non-profit, non-subsidized, affordable housing community.  

Much more affordable housing means fewer renters, but housing costs are less.

My main question is if it would be smarter to use the money I have saved up to purchase a primary residence here in Los Angeles so I am no longer throwing money away on rent, or if I should use that money to invest in a rental property some place like Atlanta, where I'm familiar with the market and is definitely more affordable.

I have read a few books by now ( The millionaire's mind by T.

Originally posted by @Linval T.

You can certainly buy at that price or well below, but by the time you do renovations you are going to be above those prices.You can find tenants for $30K houses but they will tend to be market tenants that can't afford anything more.