High credit scores and low DTI are often required…and these take much longer than I first thought…Navy might take 45 days to get through the gauntlet.  

Additionally, since my parents are nearing the retirement age, I'd like to prioritize low-debt, high-cashflow deals.

These sellers paid much less than what the going rate it today, likely have no mortgage or low interest rate mortgage and do not need to push rents to market value to cash flow.They get solid returns at their current rental values, have minimal headache with current tenants and they don't need to do major repairs to get their properties sold for a solid value. 

It was high rent, low entry point area but within 6 months I dealt with an eviction and electrical issues.

Thank you for taking the time to do a deep dive. 2% home appreciation was also a fairly low estimate, it looks like in that area it is actually around 5-6%.

However historically (last September) they had estimated December of 2023, so we will see.The pre construction appraisal was in the low 400s. 

Thanks Jack for your response, I am trying to avoid condo because of the low appreciation issues.

Also, for low value properties, most lenders wont take the risk. 

When I worked as an MHP broker, if the park was on a lagoon, I could never find a buyer no matter how low the price got. 

For example you are putting in low grade laminate and all other listings are putting in high grade vinyl.