My definition of competition differs from others because no two investors have the same deal flow and/or same buy box.

I started out buying and holding mobile homes for cash flow when I first started out.

Maybe you pivot into a multi-family in Phoenix or a single-family in Omaha.. from what I’ve heard they can still provide stable cash flow.

To recover the initial negative position will consume many months (usually years) of your cash flow. 

The right idea is going to be the bread and butter.1) Ideal location2) Quality properties over quantity of properties3) 1.25x DSCR4) Intention to hold no less than 8, but ideally 12+ years.5) Sufficient cap reserves6) Mechanisms to enhance cash flow(via alt investing or house strategies).7) Liability protection through no PG loans(if possible), LLC formation, property management and being a diligent landlord.8) Invest deeper, before wider.Now if you're talking where to invest, different information.

Hardest part will be to find a good cash flowing multifamily right now.

It is better to even be slightly cash flow negative in year one with a quality asset than to buy in the hood and find out that your xls spreadsheet did not tell you the whole story..

I went from $50,000 cash flow peak in 2013 and 2014 for my now $200,000 cash flow.  

And virtually all of them had owned rentals and maybe kept a few but were just tired on the TTT but wanted monthly cash flow . so there probably is some of that at play as well Investors that dont want to deal with the PM aspect of owning RE..

If you can find an MFDU in Asheville, that could be even better for cash flow, but I know inventory can be tight.