@Aaron Mazzrillo brings up a good point about CA, if you can afford to pick up a distressed property in Southern California and fix it up, you are going to be well rewarded for it.A group of San Diego investors met up about 2 weeks ago and are meeting again in February.

Or since your a sweat equity type..Do whatever it takes to purchase a 2nd something and maximize it with sweat equity...if you don't have funds look for affordable owner financing...no matter what get in some where, some way..You don't have to know much.. title companies and surveyors know..

@Devin WoodsI'm had good interaction with Community Bank, S&T Bank, and Clearview FCU.  

So don;t get your knickers in a knot.

Hey Peter REIN canada has great information on this type of thing, if you're seriously stuck and can afford 229/m I would recommend joining.

They might Seller finance so you don't come - just saying.Jokes aside have you run the numbers to see if you can afford the payment for a hard money loan?  

@Fred T.  

I am just nervous because I dont want anything to go wrong and I definitely dont want to end up in a bind to where I cannot afford to take care of my own personal priorities.

And make sure you have a comprehensive understanding of all the benefits that your service to the country will afford you, to include the VA loan that you're eligible for that may very well be what you use to get started as an investor.

-They have backwards priorities -They are professionals and know they will get several more months out of the home even after you file for evection-They are simply bad with managing their money-Something changed in their lives and they can no longer afford to live there/ need to save money to get into the next place-They bit off more than they could chew initially (similar to being bad at managing money but more future budget related)The people that do pay are regular people who want a decent place to live and respect how the system works.