You should meet as many players in the game as possible.

My reasons for picking this location Is because there are great jobs minutes away (EB, physers, military base), casinos (Mohegan and foxwoods) aren’t far, Niantic and mystic are very popular entertaining towns that are within 10-15 minutes, and the beaches are also within a couple minutes.

Single family houses would not work, for example, in most of Lower Manhattan.....Find your local meetings at MeetUp.com and NationalREIA.comLearn what investors in your area are buying and where the big players are making their money.Good luck!

Find some good players in your market and learn from them by serving them. 

If I want to speculate it might as well be at the casino-the entry price is way lower and I can walk away any time I want.

I infuriated my mother on a cruise ship once because she gave me a few hundred bucks to spend at the casino...I played two rounds of three-card, won, and walked away!

Perhaps you take the deal to a larger player and get a referral fee

As long as you include a 'due diligence' clause saying you can cancel the contract at the end of that period you should be covered.Not sure why you are even worried about who pays what closing cost if you're in a hot market and are a serious player.

Strange as it sounds - $1 Million doesn't really make you a Real Player in the Apartment arena in most situations.It could fit you into a number of Duplex - Fourplex projects!  

One or two players left after the shakeout and it will be the wholesale model.