1031 exchange How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I bet you can guess what happened next.

Hi Tanjaree, here is what I found for the Waco metro area:Here are my rankings for zip codes in the metro area from best to worst-1.76706 (Waco) 2.76638 (Crawford) 3.76710 (Waco) 4.76630 (Bruceville) 5.76704 (Waco) 6.76640 (Elm Mott) 7.76708 (Waco) 8.76633 (China Spring) 9.76712 (Woodway) 10.76657 (McGregor) 11.76701 (Waco) 12.76691 (West) 13.76705 (Waco) 14.76655 (Lorena) 15.76643 (Hewitt) 16.76707 (Waco) 17.76711 (Waco) 18.76557 (Moody) 19.76682 (Riesel) 20.76524 (Eddy) 21.76624 (Axtell) 22.76664 (Mart) 23.76654 (Leroy)The Waco Metro also rates slightly above average compared to the rest of the state, making it a fairly safe bet as far as Texas goes. 

Over time, a good bet would be to save up enough to find a two-family to house hack with lower money down and move there and rent out this one you own outright which would cash flow nicely. 2-1 single-families can be great for mid-term rentals as well which can 1.4-2.5 your cash flow.

You can leverage HELOCs to buy more properties (I haven't down a down payment since 2015 and between HELOCs, 1031 Exchange, and a partnership, by next week I will have a total of 16 doors with almost no money out of pocket). 

And lastly College towns are an easy bet since there are three large colleges in the Three biggest cites in CO!

Along with what @John Litz is saying, doing a 1031 exchange on the lower performing properties to buy in areas with more growth potential, would give you that diverse potential for greater cash flow.  

When buying your first rental property, or any, you probably should not bet on rents going up 4% per year.

I bet your ac is set below 80. 

I bet you're getting a lot of hands-on experience with those.Feel free to ask any questions you have about investing or share your experiences as you start your journey.