Would you recommend their realtor team for the buying process or should I look elsewhere? 

But if you buy the property well, your downside risk is that it is short term rentals don't work, and you can simply sell it for hopefully no less than what you paid.That would be my mindset.

I am not sure if I would make the same decision today.However, if you think you can purchase real estate and have a SIGNIFICANT delta as an investment, I would not cash out the 401k now to buy real estate. 

Quote from @Steven Catudal: Hi all,My partner and I are looking to buy investment properties in Alabama, specifically Birmingham.

Figure out what they're willing to pay, use those numbers to refine your search on houses you should buy. 

It can be hard to say what exactly a good/bad deal is...I also think it can be very easy to get caught up buying RE - when that may not be the best option.

if the note is currently in default and we can buy at at least a small discount, we may be able to restructure the note with no monthly payments - we would get paid all interest at closing when the property sells.  

I gravitate towards "red states" given the landlord-friendly laws and relative ease of evictions, which unfortunately are unavoidable in the buy and hold game.

I buy, add value, and build from the ground up.You are retired, and based on your picture, you are not old.

I then did some wholesaling, land flipping, did some more buying and am now just doing lending to build up active income.