Oxford House (https://oxfordhouse.org) is the biggest "peer run" sober living home nonprofit organization in the world, they lease about 3,600 homes nationwide and is a good model to study as well.

Ian,With the limited of info known, the fees do seem slightly steep.

I'm a University of Maryland student studying business and about to go into my senior year.

Unless there is some other constraint, don't feel like you have to limit yourself to those two cities. 

Quote from @Samuel Eddinger: @William Collins - my perspective is always that you are always either cash or opportunity limited. 

From there you can decide how to structure the LLC or limited partnership. 

Your mentor is right, but within limits.

Leveraging creative financing methods like hard money loans, private lending, or partnering with investors can also help you secure deals when traditional financing is delayed or limited.

I think right now there’s a lot of greedy sellers who just think the sky is the limit and don’t care that their buyers need a return on their money.

Market Analytics: Use data analytics tools to study market trends, price forecasts, and neighborhood demographics.