In a last ditch effort I sold my personal home and made about $200k from the equity. 

This would be a large residential development in a rural town with a great location.

House-hacking in a multi-family unit is one strategy I wish I had been aware of when I chose to purchase my first property.

I guess my problem with being too up front about seeing their place is that I don't feel like I'm in a position of power right now to decline people since it's hard enough to find people that I want to even get to that point in the application process in the first place, but I have to snap out of that mindset and have to instead come from a place where I make them believe that I have a lot of other applicants and that it's my standard policy and it's something they'll have to go through if they want my place.....ESPECIALLY if I decide to only take 1st & security from them rather than 1st/last/security.Thanks again!

You often see them in coastal areas where the houses are on stilts to prevent damage from king tides or storm damage from flooding.They were a way to do foundations pre-1900 in a lot of areas, especially here in the northwest.

It sounds like you’re in a great position to get started—$100k saved up and a clear goal are huge advantages.

Would like to be in a city where I could get potentially $1,500 to 2k in rent.

Or try the reverse - rehab a property to Class A standards in a Class D neighborhood and try to get a Class A or B tenant to rent it.Unfortunately, many newbie real estate investors are jumping into buying affordable Class C rentals - expecting Class A results.

I'm investing in a turnkey property in Ohio, but I'm a foreign national living in Ghana.

If you want to put the deposit in a out of state/online bank, then you will have to furnish a bond.