So nowadays I start on the telephone by telling them I am an investor and advise them regarding the economics of wholesaling their house. 

is it better to wait until the risks of increasing supply and economic slowdown subside? 

The high rents in Baltimore are not economically reasonable. 

@Raymond Hill my sense is that due to the various costs and regulations involved, as @Brandon Ingegneri mentioned in his examples, it just makes more economic sense for builders to focus on single families than multis.I think it's related to the fact that most single family purchases don't make sense from an investment point of view because as an investor who's looking at income and expense #s to determine what you can offer, you're competing with owner-occupants who have very favorable financing and are buying because of the school district and because they like the kitchen and bathroom, not whether the rents vs. expenses & mortgage is profitable.In other words, because of the favorable financing and "use benefit", the buyers of single families almost always pay more per unit than the buyers of multi families.

I am moving most of my money into more conservative investments in the economical environment we are in.

Beyond that, when we do purchase a property we will be able to restore it more economically because of having the business in place. 

I am familiar with the history of the area but not so much the current state of affairs - both economic trends and current local initiatives. 

Considering the current economic environment, real estate market, and international tariffs... is now a good time to buy a rental property?

I'd be happy to share my thoughts on neighborhood specific economics and even share a bit about our economics i.e. the 1% rule is achievable but you have to be willing to either wait or work for it.

When you create an operating agreement there are some limits to what you can do but you could allocate him all depreciation in any given year and it would hold up as long as your agreements met the substantial economic effect rules.