Thanks Stuart.I don't think a "thesis" is necessary for real estate investing.Your mixing "thesis" with speculation and prediction IMO$1m in cash is retirement for someone that knows what they are doing in "low barrier" markets like you mention.Same can't be said for higher entry markets.Those that don't know real estate will loose no matter where or how they invest.Personally, I don't care about appreciation as I don't get out of bed unless I can net cashflow 20% net on a deal.For example, just bought a 6 unit in a B class area for $160,000.Currently occupied and renting for $3,000pm.Once minor rehab of $50,000 is completed, rents will be $4,500.I have an offer to sell as is for $250,000.ARV is $350,000.When interest rates go down, value will increase even further due to commercial lending being easier.No need for appreciation on such deals.I'll take them all day long over any appreciation potential.Again, just my opinion and each to their own.

I want to purchase properties all over the U.S. in specific areas that my wife and I calculate and predict high returns on with multi family units, apartments, duplexes, etc.

The appreciation will be an added bonus and since you can not predict it and control it, do not account for it.

I'm planning to have ROI, rents, cashflow, expenses, debt service, repairs/maintenance, return on equity, appreciation (I think this works over the long-term, kind of hard to predict in the short term especially with what we've seen in the last few years, but I usually conservatively estimate this anyway at 2%) and return on equity.

This can potentially increase the value of your investment over time.Diversification: Investing in Florida real estate can provide diversification to your investment portfolio, as it offers exposure to a different asset class compared to stocks and bonds.However, like any investment, there are risks associated with investing in residential rental units in Florida, such as vacancy rates, property maintenance costs, and market fluctuations.

Risk isn't like a stock, you're not looking at beta you're looking at quality of neighborhood you're purchasing, interest rate, rental liquidity, etc. 

I'm located in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area and am open to properties basically anywhere in southern Michigan (anything south of Muskegon from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron is fair game imo.)I now have a fairly large nest egg of cash beyond all of my other investments (stocks, bonds, treasuries, crypto) and I want to turn that cash into a real estate investment or investments and I think my deep background in tech, systems, and marketing should be able to help me substantially.It seems to me like BRRRR on multifamily units makes the most sense, but I'm open to suggestions.I'm basically retired at this point as the only work I do each week is 3-4 hours of consulting for larger tech companies and I'm on a couple advisory boards.What are the best first steps in building a team and creating the systems necessary to start making deals?

Our primary residence along with our vacation home is worth about $1.4 million, have a million in stocks etc.. credit score is 700+  How the heck do we get qualified for a loan? 

You can't predict what the HOA fee will be next year, assessments and changes in rules. 

Insuring old housing stock can certainly have an added insurance component.