It can absolutely be tough to purchase a house in such an expensive market so you'll need to weigh the costs of the money you're paying to rent a place and not be tied to it or responsible for keeping the place up vs. buying an investment property to live in and use rent to supplement your income while taking on the responsibility of managing a house. 

Are you aiming to hit a certain COC or ROI, or are you looking more in the long term?

I’m aiming for a BRRRR strategy, so I’ll be starting with a hard money loan and then doing a cash out refinance with a local community bank.

Might help you supplement for the time being.

The closing costs and commission add up to 50k and the profit margin I aim for is 100k. 

The closing costs and commission add up to 50k and the profit margin I aim for is 100k.

I always aim for 100k profit because costs and time always go over, so this gives me enough buffer to still make money.

I would aim to acquire 1 house a month in each market - in sub markets I would focus on wholesale and writing hard money loans to have secured interest to have some cash flow to cover fluctuations in the market.

I suggest you focus on deals that can net you $400+ per month and then aim for your goal to be met with 4 rentals (not 10) :-) Good luck!

I agree with @Travis Trull, aiming to buy land early in up & coming areas may be the best strategy.