And we need to stretch it and see if we can match our salaries. 

I have around $15,000 in the bank which could afford a 3.5% down-payment, but closing costs and the first few months rent could be a stretch as my job hasn't started yet (The home would still be under construction so its possible I could achieve W2 income before actually paying a mortgage?).

Both have their own unique advantages and can offer great potential for real estate investing.

@Kermaury Musgrove no first-time story, but some education:)Every market is unique, but the Midwest markets have a lot of similarities and are way different than the market in California.In Metro Detroit, we rank all the suburban cities and the City of Detroit Neighborhoods as Class A, B, C & D.Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.So, when investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

It seems to be a combination of wholesale becoming more popular (and competitive so upwards pricing pressure) and with more investors in the market, wholesalers are stretching deals to maximize profit.

I understand you need to manage the PM and rehab, but it is really a stretch to believe you are spending 3 hours every day on this.

I talk to many west-coast investors who invest with us and independently in the region, their dollar stretches a lot farther. 

A lake, A river, unique hiking experiences, ect. 

They undoubtedly overpaid for the homes which were bought by the least savy homebuyers who have now got into trouble/overleveraged and need to cash by selling a portion of their equity in the first place, thus NADA's positions will likely fall faster than the overall market as they have this intrinsic flaw of no price discovery in their methodology. so either NADA makes out like a bandit by fleecing stupid Americans (not a unique business model) or NADA bought overpriced homes near the PEAK, since they just started business in late 2021, and they will incinerate your investment better than Cathie Wood, I'm getting my popcorn ready to watch this %&*@show   :)

The luxury and unique experiences are still getting booked.