Hell, the Fed employs 100+ researchers and 400 PHD economists.They are usually wrong about both: where inflation will be, and what their own interest rates (Fed Funds rate) will be.

Orhi Hi Orhi,Been plugging away in Toledo, OH since 2014Here are answers to your criteria regarding Toledo1) $75,000 - $100,000 buys solid B class2) Toledo University is solid and employs many people and has foreign students (43607 zip code)3) Car manufacturers, Pro-Medica, Andersons and the glass industry (Most blue all blue collar)4) Hit and a miss5) Declining population from a macro market but certain pockets in high demand from a micro market stadpoint6) 500,000 people including surrounding suburbsWishing you much success

I consider myself more of a self-employed business owner than a real estate investor and I still consider our business a 'startup' after almost 8 years-- I guess I'm on the slow train.

I'm of course bias, but we get a lot of Nor Cal investors here because we're driving distance but have low property taxes (that do NOT reassess on the sale), stable job growth, employment growth, land constraints that drive appreciation, and much more landlord friendly laws. 

We did waive a late fee for one tenant back in April & May when they had a temporary pause in their employment due to shutdowns, but they applied for unemployment benefits which more than covered their rent, and they quickly caught up. 

Those are for rental properties, not for flips.What you normally have on flips is ordinary income plus 15% self-employment tax.

Will employment tank and take the vacation market with it?

The city's real estate market benefits from the presence of large employers like NASA and the U.S.

In my experience most agents are 1099 self employed contractors working on 100% commission, but there is no rule about that. 

Population is growing aggressively and jobs are moving here especially with major employers like Intel, Google, Amazon, Nationwide, etc.