We were already in a hot seller's market with historically low inventory before Covid but Covid brought us a wild influx of buyers from "pandemic hot spots" who are looking for that "staycation" in anticipation of the next round of shutdowns.Who'da thunk this?!!!

As you mentioned you are fresh out of school with limited savings but as an owner occupied rental property owner you can qualify for lower down payment requirements (somewhere between 3.50% - 5%) and the Bank will take into account the anticipated rental income as part of your income so you will most likely be able to afford more than you think.  

The one silver lining was that the appraisal came in 21k over what I had anticipated, which helped mitigate our losses.

The one silver lining was that the appraisal came in 21k over what I had anticipated.

It sound like the company is anticipating Higher losses for that type of policy in your state.

Anticipate long-term holds typically.I'd also look at Abilene, San Angelo, and markets like that.

We anticipate rental rates and appreciation to increase every year!

If you can get that far in your vetting process, most likely you have a serious contractor that can do business with an investor well.Something to also consider is that there are significant delays in certain materials for rehabs right now (i.e. windows, lumber packages, etc.) ask these contractors where they anticipate certain manufacturing or shipping delays and what their plan is to keep your timeline on-track for completionBest of luck to you!!

We got much more than we anticipated.

If you invest in a property where a payout is anticipated at the end, you could bring in an experienced flipper/contractor as a partner to assist with the estimating process.