<prompt> Human: I currently live in the Bay Area, but Ive considered purchasing a home in my hometown metro area of about a million in the south, explicitly for the sake of renting it out and earning passive income on it. I have enough in savings to comfortably put about 50 down on such a home, meaning my mortgage payments would be pretty small. My income is high enough that I can easily pay for both my own rent and that mortgage if anything were to fall through. I have been considering doing this for a few months now, but I dont know where to begin, how to research, or even what to research to decide if this is a path Id like to go down. What are the first steps?EDIT: Im not looking to buy in the Bay Area! I live here, but want to buy in my hometown in the south.  <response>: rRealEstateBigger Pockets 