If you sprinkled in cash-flowing rental properties with your cash-hog appreciation properties then you could create a net $0 appreciation machine (i.e. one where cashflow positive properties wash away the cashflow negative cash needs) OR even better, you could build net positive cashflow WHILE paying for the cash-hogs.Considering you are looking at "your local area" as a several hundred square mile space, investing beyond that bubble shouldn't be too much of a comfort stretch. 

They aren't actually sprinkled out...)

As far as sfr in the Bozeman area, there are a few listings sprinkled here and there $550k or lower, but the majority are starting at $625k plus.

Meredith hello, I'm from Alameda, my sisters are all still sprinkled through-out the Bay Area, so who-knows maybe you know one of them. 

I sprinkle in purchased lists to hit my counts but I do my best to put my "eyes on" every house I am going to be mailing (whether it from driving for dollars or from internet mining).

I still even after all these years still pick up commission income and my wife does quite well on commission income... there is an apprentice that we all went through.. we did not just sprinkle the holly water on it and started making 100k to 200k a year in the business.a lot of wholesale success is markets and market conditions..

Tower District is certainly an area that would do well on Airbnb but I have seen many successful listings sprinkled throughout town.

The Fire suppression should be $3-$4 per square foot of sprinkled space

I searched online and learned that if you sprinkle cayenne pepper on the ground, cats will avoid it. 

A third option is to buy the house and then just buy random condos sprinkled around town, this option would allow me to either buy the units outright so that I dont have any risk of forclosure if there is a vacancy.