Miami Rental Market Update: Rents Drop $200 as Affordability Remains a ChallengeMiami has officially ranked as the second-most unaffordable city in the U.S., but there’s some good news for renters: local rents have dropped to a 3-year low, with decreases of up to $200.

I would compare the return on your rental to your stock market portfolio.

Plus if I'm reading your post correctly, if you did it without permits, depending on your market it may not have much value anyways.

Raw land is tricky for even experienced agents/brokers to sell.Co-marketing a vacant lot with a builder is not a new concept and is done frequently.

Also, how'd you narrow down your search to these two markets? 

Right now, I’m looking to get started with bird dogging in Western Pennsylvania, focusing on distressed properties and off-market deals that could be good for fix-and-flip or buy-and-hold investors.

Hey everyone,I’ll keep this short and would love to hear from investors who have successfully leveraged a HELOC to scale their real estate portfolio for both short-term cash flow and long-term wealth building.I’m about to unlock $200-250K in HELOC from my primary residence (a condo in NYC), and I know there’s a powerful strategy I can implement.My current plan:✅ Acquire a 10-15 unit multifamily in a mid-sized market (AL, TN, OH, etc.), targeting a $700-800K deal with value-add potential.✅ Use 20% from my HELOC for the down payment and finance the rest with hard money.✅ Force appreciation over 6 months, then refinance into a DSCR loan to pay off the HELOC.✅ Rinse and repeat!

St Louis is not an expensive market but you want to make sure you don't get into a terrible area. 

Also, has anyone had more success with inbound marketing—using PPC, PPL, or other methods?

Your house is nearly market-ready, but a few final touches will make it truly shine.