They can offer valuable insights into the local market, potential rental yields, and specific considerations for a rehab project like the one you're planning.

I would advise finding an investor friendly realtor when you choose a market.

We acquire land years in advance through our network of real estate agents and wholesalers in the Jacksonville market.

In this case, your monthly payment with 20% down will have a good MARKET rate if your DTI works with a much lower month payment and no mortgage insurance(MI).

Even though interest rates are high, we have a big Mircron plant coming here as part of the CHIPS act so that could boost housing demand in the coming years.I don't know the SYR market, but I did a quick search for duplexes somewhat outside of the city, and found this: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7300-Lakes....

Absolutely, the passive income from owning rentals is great but I also love getting into big projects and seeing the transformation from start to finish@David Jesperson What city/market are you looking to buy and what type of properties are you looking for, SF, 2-4 MF, or 5+ MF?

If the market moves against you, it takes too much capital to fix it.Contrast that to this scenario:  let’s say that the acquisition loan was 60% LTV originally, and after a market drop of 30% the loan is now 85%.  

Pensacola is a great market for investing and the number of properties available right now is up so there are actually some on market properties with potential. 

Quote from @Treza Edwards: I would be looking at this as a market-dependent change.

I agree.. just look at any large mid west or rust belt metro.. there is a ton of houses avaliable the question though will folks buy in certain neighborhoods where inventory is readily avaliable you can buy existing in many of these markets for far less than new builds.. so to me its really a neighborhood issue  a school issue a crime issue etc etc..