If REI ends up being your pursuit, I'd do something similar that @Cody L mentioned and that I mentioned in the NFL player thread but more SFH oriented. 60% towards 20-40% LTV properties that are undervalued(less than median price) in a growing city(by characteristics, trends, industries). 

The location determines all long-term characteristics.

This is helpful because they will often answer many of the questions (for example, "it's me and my roommate and we're looking to move in by April1 ) so it doesn't leave me with so many questions to ask. 2) It gives me information about what is most important to them so I can be sure to highlight any characteristics of the apartment that match their most important desires.