I  Income:  The amount of property you can buy will be dependent on your Debt to Income ratio.  

You have to make a deal rather than buy a deal, be more appreciation focused, and be more patient.

Quote from @Sofia De Santos Tavarez: Hello, my husband and I are looking to do our first rehab in a different city than where we live (we live in Austin and looking to buy in El Paso), and are wondering how one determines and writes a scope of work and determine what material to buy for what.

:)Just kidding.1) Stock market: may want to do this while exploring other options, just make sure funds are easily accessible2) Buy Multi-unit: two basic options:- Buy turnkey: may not cashflow for 3-5 years, depending on your management skills.- Buy someone else's problem: can you fix their problems?

I ask because we only buy houses around the southern US (TX,OK,AR,TN) but we're curious to know if more opportunities to buy foreclosures could potentially exist in other markets. 

We plan to buy a second house as well.

Not following this - what does your buddies property have anything to do with a property you are buying?  

You are correct, buying a four plex is tricky here putting 3.5% down.

Now that house has been rented out for the past two years, and I want to buy another possible duplex or triplex to house hack.

Keep your focus on how many crappy properties you can buy each year, instead of buying fewer but better properties.