It might be helpful to narrow down your options by focusing and researching for markets with strong rental demand, growing job markets, and property prices that fit within your budget.

I am planning to get into the TN real estate market as my first investment and am looking for some information.In particular: Areas to steer clear of, property management fees, typical cosmetic rehab costs, etc.My strategy is to put large down payments on 2 properties (relative to housing prices) to help pay for my living in NY while still gaining appreciation in a growing real estate market.

I would check with Dennis Kahn at Homestead Mortgage or another popular mortgage broker here, Zach Starnes or there are several other lenders that can re-fi off appraised value much sooner than 1 yr.

And some markets are going to be a lot more popular for the average BP member ( which to me is heavily slanted to starting out) At least from the post we see.  

Sounds like the velocity banking stuff that was popular for a while.

Eco-friendly, off the grid properties are getting to be very popular experiences out west!

If I used the HELOC, the investment needs to generate >9%.I recognize there are many variables not listed here but would love to hear from more experienced investors on more generally how you think about using cash vs. home equity to grow your portfolio in the current environment. 

Fire pit with string lights is very popular.

Palm Coast, while not as flashy as Miami, is indeed growing rapidly, with increasing interest from higher-income professionals and retirees.

Our real estate goals are to purchase our first investment by end of 2025 (ideally small muti-family like a duplex), and scale to ~40 doors to reach our financial targets.EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: My parents flipped every house I ever lived in growing up.