A key factor to consider is whether the positive developments are strong enough to transform the broader areas.

For example, there's a 1950 duplex for sale (West Palm Beach, FL) for $500k with each tenant (MoM) paying $1,500 = $3k/moThe mortgage is $2.8k/moWould this be a bad investment because you would have to factor improvements and possible vacancy?

Do not be ashamed for your honest work, but your income doesn't have to be your limiting factor.

FHA does not have a clear definition in their guidelines, but most lenders have stability standards, depending on several factors (contract length, previous employment, etc).

I'm a broker, so commissions aren't a factor, and there's no loan on the Georgia properties.What do you guys think? 

You pay taxes on 401k withdrawals whether you are 40 or 60, so the 10% penalty you get is what you have to factor in with your decision.It's impossible to say whether stocks/bonds in your 401k or real estate that you acquire will do better over the long haul.

This is significant for those two factors.

To piggy back off of Andrew, when I did my first BRRRR I didn't factor in holding cost.

TL;DR: Recent article suggests rent hikes aren't just about landlord greed - rising costs across the board are a major factor.

Of course if you are going into it with a long time horizon that is great and you might think it may not matter, but you have to factor it in.