A house hack is the single best way to get started at your age.

@Robert Smoot What kind of rental property are you looking to purchase (i.e. single family, small multi-family (2 - 4 units), large multiple family (5+ units), etc.)?

That is because the owners typically contribute thousands of dollars worth a "sweat equity" -mostly site prep and painting.There is a shockingly high demand for short and intermediate term single rooms with bath. 

To go from a three unit, two unit, and than finally owning a single family home for myself and my family.

I do about 40 transactions a year and about 35 of them are probably with investors and most of those are probably investors buying properties like single family homes or multi-family residential in Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor and Greeley Colorado.

There are some properties with 10 bedrooms that really cash flow, but there are downsides and risks involved with having so many bedrooms in a single family dwelling.I am actually working with a client right now to find him 2 properties by McMaster.

guys - on paper this property in MA doesn't look like it's got a good cash flow - this is only for a single year but the last 5 years have looked similar.

There is no one single way to invest in real estate and networking with many different investors may give you additional ideas for achieving your goals.

I would stick with single family homes. 

We both have experience in the single family realm having bought and sold several single family houses each on our own using conventional financing.