Some of the other people in the program are having some luck working the ATL & PHO markets which is influencing where i will start doing some outreach but I figured i'd get more seasoned investors to share their take and maybe help me see some things from a different perspective.I know this system is not the most sustainable/scalable but seems to be the fastest way to get the ball rolling in terms of revenue as it's marketing is time consuming but free, basically just FB group outreach & direct messages.

In hot metro areas, which are both vacation destinations and residential hubs, investors have the unique opportunity to combine these strategies to boost their cash flow in their own city.While it typically requires a bit more work than long-term rentals, house hacking with STRs in popular metro areas allows you to live where you want and maximize your return while living there.

so when I'm the sole voice saying "I dunno, maybe, actually no, this does NOT make sense, you shouldn't refinance if you're going to sell the home in 9 months (or whatever it is)" I very quickly become the go-to mortgage fact checker for that person's entire sphere of influence.

What you don't want to do, is to try and influence the appraiser.

thankfully the market went insane and i was able to make a profit even with my inexperience, BP definitely influenced all of my choices and in hindsight if i applied more of the tips i learned from listening to the podcast and reading all the books recommended i shouldn't have made half the mistakes but live and learn. on to the next one!

But if we do represent a large majority of purchasing behavior, how long do you think that influence will last?

Yes in San Diego with lots of tourists you can increase the income if the units look cute in photos but the Underwriter won't give you the income boost.

It is even more challenging without a large sphere of influence but it is not impossible.

That can be a great means of boosting that income for DTI for max qualification. 

Realistically there are other factors which influence this (like interest rates, which obviously cannot go any lower).