Northern Virginia, Buy/Hold/Rent

[Nick Shri]

I read quite a few posts on BP for Buy/Hold/Rent in NoVA. Unfortunately most of these posts are a year or two old (I feel that's old and maybe not-so relevant information, given we are this new Covid economy for almost 8+ mos now). We bought a single family in 2019, rented my condo (in Fairfax) for a year (just sold in October 2020). I unfortunately didn't have enough cushion to weather the non-paying tenant for too long, and apparently I learned it was a challenge to rent out the condo compared to a townhome. My observation in townhome rental market over past year has led me to believe that is easier to rent townhomes in NoVA then any other type of property. I was able to take the equity from sold condo and reduce my mortgage on my SF.

Now, I am looking to refi my SF in beginning of 2021, get a Heloc and invest in a townhome in FFX, PW or Loudoun counties. Any recommendations on how to look for deals? (MLS isn't going to help me, I am open for a bit of rehab [not a total fix/up]). Looking to make some good connections in this market.