That's the opportunity.I also recommend engaging an 'investment focused' realtor (not the general residential ones) to guide you through the process and provide you with market intelligence. 

Under IRS Publication 523 for 2023 dated February 2024, I qualify as "Service, Intelligence and Peace Corp Personnel" and for "qualified extended duty" (page 4& 5 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p523.pdf).

But I think savvy investors will be able to navigate those laws to take advantage of artificially suppressed competition to do well. 

Will you be incorporating artificial intelligence (AI)?

You can attend all the REIAs and read all the books and sign up for all the conferences, and spend all the money, and you are will never really know you can do it until you do.Over 20 years in real estate in various forms and roles, action will beat out intelligence or education or even network 100% of the time.  

I'd love to be able to start that way, but it's impossible in my location.Try to run the numbers and see if it makes sense for you, but for most real estate investors, I believe house hacking is the most intelligent/reasonable place to start. 

—used algorithms and insider information to keep rents artificially high.

Long term intelligence of this move is to be seen. 

Hi Julia,Do you think the concepts from the BiggerPockets book The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth With Intelligent Buy and Hold Real Estate Investing is outdated? 

Thanks for the intelligent info. and contributions on this topic.