One possibility is building a duplex in Peoria, while it's not the best rental market, getting a duplex at a possibly much cheaper price than market value is extremely appealing.

As a VA, you’d want to build on that by getting familiar with tools that real estate professionals use.

Real estate purchase using reasonable leverage, at todays interest rates, will build up equity through amortization.  

Glad you're building your business while still active duty, that's a powerful move! 

So the goal of DSCR is now to figure out the best real estate cash flowing strategy to pair with DSCR loans as you scale your portfolio. anyone looking for help going DSCR, feel free to reach out as I build my portfolio with these and help investors scale theirs as a lender.

Wondering if you have advice on me just being the bank, where I purchase a house and structure a rent to own with him and have him build up a 30% cash down payment and some equity and then me sell the house to him at a locked in price.  

It’s a great reminder to trust your own due diligence and not let others make critical decisions for you, like hiring a property manager.For future investments, building a trusted team and maintaining direct oversight is key, even with remote deals.

from my advice rural properties and developments aren't successful and you are climbing an uphill battle. sounds a little niche. we focus on developing and not reinventing the wheel. if this is truly what you want to focus all your time and energy on then visit the closest 5-10 of these that look like the ones you are interested and ask if they'd expand or build a secondary one. do a lot of research before you just take action 

Knowing your long-term plans can help you build a long-term financing strategy so that you are not just worried about purchase number 4, but also purchases 5 - 20+ (if you plan to continue to invest).I'm an investor and licensed mortgage broker.

Developers will not be able to get these bonus building permits without providing such TDR credits.