Or the house construction industry in general where they build for $X and sell for $X+margin?

Though I would caution you on hard money lending until you understand the industry a bit better, that can be very rewarding but you have to be able to do your due diligence on deals because you're turning over your hard-earned money to an individuals project, often a flip. 

I'm Igor - a revenue management expert with over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

I recognize there are other ways I could invest this cash (including another property) but I am being mindful of levering myself out too much in the current environment where job losses are more common in my industry (tech).

YUP anyone advocating this to the public is not doing the industry any favors to many bad apples and even if your the holier than though trainer etc etc.. the students are such that you cannot know who is going to be a bad apples and screw people.. having spent 40 years lending money to investors .. its the nicest ones up front that end up being bad apples.

A young population plus a growing industry makes for good long term investments, but unless you are really scaling the cashflow can be hit or miss. 

I know that I will need a good realtor on my team that understands not just the market but the real estate investment industry itself.

Invelo is a true all-in-one solution for real estate investors, built with industry-proven best practices.

The more properties you walk and the more industry conversations you have, the better you’ll get at identifying these opportunities.

@Carlos C.Mark Kohler is well respected in the industry.