😵‍💫 In my backyard or out of state?

I think that '25 will be a transition year ("end the dive in '25") for the reasons you stated--construction will fall off in Q2-3 but demand will remain...that sparks rent growth.Interest rates:  Yes, flat to up. 

One thing to add is that when you buy a new build, your PITI will likely not be factoring in the correct state tax number.

My question about the 10K club is why do we need 40+ ways to find deals when he states that his system does it for us?

This simply means you have language in your lease that states the landlord is responsible for paying utilities up to a certain $ amount (let's say $100 for the sake of argument).

Hopefully you can state simply (and truthfully)  at the end of the showing that you have other interested parties to whom you are showing the property and will let them know in due course.  

They stated it was none of our business. 

Sounds like you are already on the path to being an out of state investor and with the right team that can be powerful.  

I work almost exclusively with investors and a lot of times, out-of-state investors.

In my opinion, if you really like one state more than another, try to make the house-hacking work there.