I had a decent paying job in NJ while living at home on the cheap, and wanted to use my money to invest in real estate.

I'm in need of some cheap cabinets and wood flooring.

I bought into my first commercial property because it was cheap, and had several buildings on it. 

There a lot of 2,1s in Dundalk that go for cheap, so it's tempting to purchase for a flip, but they're not big sellers in the area (and not really in most places).I'm currently investing in the Dundalk area, as well.

It's definitely worth waiting to get your financing until AFTER you've started your new job though, otherwise you could be getting into a deal that you will regret and be trying to re-fi later on.My wife and I made the move from Charlotte last year, and we just decided to hole up somewhere cheap while we got income established etc.. but it can't hurt to try to get financed..

Don't know how it would work in Austin, very different market from the cheap and steady market here. 

Multifamily is my focus and I've been trying for cheap single families (under 250k) as well.

Option A: live with family for free until we have new job(s) locked down, then move into real estate once we have a salary for a traditional mortgageOption B: rent a cheap apartment in GR to get our bearings in the city while looking for jobs, and learning more about the REI/rental marketplace by living thereOption C: explore creative funding options to speed up the purchase of our first investment property, which will help fund the purchase of our own homeOption D: look for a 2-unit to live in, fix, and rent before we purchase a larger home? 

PEX is the way to go, I am not a plumber by any stretch of the imagination, but pex is so easy to use, cheap, and easy to learn. 

@Brian Snell I think this is a great question about the lease purchase or lease option business.Lease purchase or lease option business planning is got nothing to do with wholesaling (e.g. buying the property as cheap as possible price or optioning the property at the cheapest possible price.)Lease purchase or lease option business planning has to do with positioning yourself as a problem solver.