If you want to use a local company to manage your rental instead of self-managing, I can put you in contact with a great team!

Choosing a market for your first investment should be as close to local as possible or you won't learn anything and will be too hands off.

Have you tried attending any FREE local real estate meet ups in your area?

Educate yourself on the local market, network with other investors and agents, and always have a solid plan in place before making any investments.

@Alex Rivera Jr.Depending on where you live starting out with a house hack is a great option locally.

Thank you.You will have to pay a little more if you go the HM route, and for the first one or two if you have a good local, conventional lender that will do that you would be okay, but HML are great for speed, efficiency, and some quirks, depending on the lender.It might also depend on your capital and how much you are wanting to spend on the first one.

We were currently spending $850/mo for a local 1000 sqft garage space that was being used for storage and shop purposes.

Not sure if someone out there or a local company specializes in these type of transactions?

There're lot of family that rather renting as long as their kid is within this school district.and here's another story, this is a condo that was 1.2 mil in 2016 and recently sold for 600k-ish in best location in the world (for the homeless lol) :https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/1075-Market-St-94103... so yea, school district and local gov. has huge impact of condo appreciation (and de-appreciation) lol also if on want sample of condo complex that the HOA is simply broken and the homeowner is basically wiped out, there're bunch of them in Concord. 

To kickstart your journey, consider networking with local investors to gain valuable insights.