Looks more to me like either bad advice or not listening to good advise wrt developer. passion aboItbteal estate does not ewual develIoer skill.

Better would be if you sought a partner to bring the skill to a deal you help find.

Knowing how to read and interpret a contract is a valuable skill. 

[I've been inspired by an old friend of mine whose now accumulated 3 units, starting with a place he got a few years back for $120k in Jersey City that now rents for over $1200/mo.. and has appreciated 50%+]Longer term, I want to build a network of local people with varied skills and to employ some of my underemployed friends in a variety of value generative ways.

As far as the fed knowing better how to protect better from a down turn, I don't share your optimism about their skills.

However, when a mortgage loan is required and they don't meet the guidelines in these 1350 pages of Fannie Mae guidelines...https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide/sel013117.pdf...in order to actually close the deal...well, we all know here in 2018, that's where the skill of a Mortgage Broker is required.or the deal is dies! 

It is that easy to gain more knowledge and be more skilled when it comes to the real estate industry.

As a side note, the company was paying my living expense abroad, so really I was tripling my savings rate.I am not sure if the company you are speaking about is trying to get you to move for a new job or if it is your current employer needing your skills in a different location, but leveraging them to protect your position might be a better strategy. 

In your case (being from NJ) I am sure you are used to the seasonality of renters and vacancy.Also, current comps for my purchase are coming in around 65K (in-line with what you are seeing)Best of luck/skill and let me know if you have any other questionsAloha,Matt

It doesn't matter whether the deals are good deals or not, you are just building the skills of understanding what to look for and what parameters you can mentally set in your head.