It really depends on what you are looking to do in terms of property type/strategy (turnkey, BRRRR, flip, etc). 

If you can qualify, traditional financing is going to give you the best rate in terms.

It doesn't matter what you're doing in terms of investments or savings aside from this.

-Homes that aren't falling apart/need major rehab on the property-Prices in six figures overall not seven figuresWhat 2-3 cities should I really pinpoint in terms of the Zillow map to get an idea of some great options?

(This is what scared me a lot) So in terms of BRRRing here you will need to find burnt down buildings to be able to make it work to bypass the rent control requirements.

You need to decide what you like in terms of communication and then determine what price you are willing to pay for that service.

Is there a difference between different housing authorities like Boston housing or Salem housing in terms of their rent rates and smoothness of process?

Our current situation is very flexible right now in terms of where we can start our first flip or rental, we are eager to get started!

Initiate from somewhere small then let it grow—in terms of experience one may have something like house hacking in mind for a beginning.

Which means that you are actually making quite a bit on that property in terms of loan amortization each month.