I live on the border of Murrieta and Menifee (Mapleton) but the entry price points and short term cash flow are keeping me looking out of state for my first deal but I am very interested in what locals are doing for their first deals.

If your timeline is 1-2 years then money market or CD will be your best vehicle to park your money.You don't want to risk your principal in anything riskier with a short timeline.

I was thinking of buying a property In Waco Texas (the market Is cheap but  should be growing very shortly)  the problem is i need to move out in 3 months so if I'm going to do this I need to get the ball moving soon.  

This was offered as a short term promotion by a lender that I had other loans with and have done loans since.  

The FHA appraisal is valid for a period of 120 days.

A normal seller's agreement assigns EXCLUSIVE rights to sell for a  period of time. 

I'm also very skeptical of the HUD deals getting swooped up during the owner occupant period in Chicago.

One of the markets we invest into in BC's interior currently (Kelowna BC) has less the 1% vacancy rate, the city is going to be opening up the rules for adding a carriage house (or lane-way house) thus giving us a great opportunity to add another rental unit onto an existing property.The banks however will be happy to lend once the project is done but leaves us with a short term cash challenge to get the approx 200k to get the project up and complete. 

A lender will give a little credit for a short duration off, especially in the same industry, rather than a long period of off time.  

When I write our loans, we have a grace period built in - typically 5-10 days - before the payment is considered late and penalties are due.