I don't think we will be able to afford a 1.5M+ mortgage without a huge down payment (sale of our house).I feel this would be going backwards as we would focus on one property preventing us to do other things.

Adding a 1/2 bath, new roof, central air or other typical improvements will increase the value of the property. 

I can buy a 2-4 unit with 20% down vs conventional can only buy a 2-4 INVESTMENT property with 25% down 4. there are options where DSCR loans dont repot to personal credit, helps in not having to show a bunch of paperwork or not one person in a partnership has to carry the debt5. way less paperwork to close on this loan type vs a conventional loan. we care about the income of the property you're buying and it's ability to service the debt of the property whether we use long term rents income, lease income, or air dna/bnb income.6. easily buy in partnerships, add people to your operating agreement, its as easy as that so bring partners into a deal. helps with scaling and raising capital or getting partners involved7. gift funds allowed to close on these as well, and like I said earlier, there's only a 10day seasoning period of funds with some lenders so that means you can literally have a private money lender deposit money into your account 11 days before closing, and you can use those funds to close!

Moving forward blindly on that deal would have put our investors money at risk, which isn't an option, so WE took a $60k haircut to prevent that.

And this low demand could be a couple of factors, either a rural location with low population density or the area incomes are not high enough in order to prevent a rent burdened scenario. 

I retired in 2008 with 21 years in the Air Force.13 sales in your first year is pretty impressive, particularly for someone on active duty.

Naturally your property must sell before you can take title to the new one, but nothing prevents you from getting it under contract and make the process as smooth as possible.  

We have used actuals and projections from air dna to come up with rent.

Meet other investors in your area and stay in touch with them; you can ask them questions that might prevent problems.Best to you!

The cold air often runs out in the summer and the heat doesn't turn on in the winter.