@Anthony MurphyI’m an affiliate for both of them and at this point I’d recommend PropStream over DealMachine.

Absent them, risk is controllable over time.I self manage a SFH in the Bay Area in a very pro-tenant city (some cities are a little less pro-tenant than others).

That's a great place to start, we have over 1000 local members and hold about 20 meet ups a month.

So, instead of a 2/1 over 2/1 or a side-by-side that is exactly the same layout, look for oddballs.

I have clients doing 1 a quarter thats about the slowest to others that will go on a mini tear and I will help them buy 5 or 6 over a 45 day period then they go to work.But generally my busy folks will do 15 to 30 plus a year..

And I used all my rental mailbox money over the last 9 years since I first started investing to buy more and more.

The Midwest has not one thing that is overly amazing, but it scores reasonably well in every single category.

i would:-get the highest paying W2 job you can-save up enough to buy a house hack-house hackwhile you continue to learn and consider the other possibilities you mentioned.

I've watched  it unfold many times over the years.

pid=2141Houston Real Estate Highlights for December and Full-Year 2024:-Following two consecutive years of declines, single-family home sales rebounded in 2024 with 85,163 single-family homes sold compared to 84,038 in 2023 an increase of 1.3 percent; -Total property sales for full-year 2024 were statistically flat at 101,864 units while the total dollar volume increased 3.1 percent to $41 billion;-December single-family home sales climbed 16.3 percent year-over-year with 7,162 units sold;-Total December property sales increased 13.6 percent to 8,478 units;-Total dollar volume for December rose 20.5 percent to $3.5 billion;-The single-family home median price edged up by 1.3 percent to $334,290 while the average price increased 5.0 percent to $425,150;-Single-family homes months of inventory expanded to a 4.0-months supply;-The townhome/condominium market experienced declining sales throughout 2024, and in December, volume declined 5.8 percent, with the average price up 2.5 percent to $268,152 and the median price statistically flat at $234,250;-Townhome/condominium inventory improved from a 3.5-months supply to 5.4 months.