im a high school student and I’m very interested in real estate investment and would love to hear some suggestions on how to get started.

Yes, you will likely pay close to or at retail value if you are buying a quality property that has been properly renovated. 

This might not be realistic if you're going to build several homes, but I've worked with other developers that were either building custom homes or doing high end rehabs that used them.

@James Maaba congrats on your recent long term rental purchase, East Stroudsburg is in high demand!

We budgeted $100k and that’s our goal but have extra just in case something pops up so this $120k is a high number.

When I was stationed in Northern VA, high costs had me stuck until I sold my Corvette to meet my DTI ratio and get a condo using my VA Jumbo LOan—one of my best investments.

Days wind down and now they have a (knee jerk) reaction and buy something non-optimal for a property just to avoid tax penalties.Had they been realistic starting out they would have had time to locate quality properties to buy instead of looking for a Unicorn.

-i highly recommend you travel in person to your chosen market to build a team. 

I have my eyes set on a plot of land near my home where there is high income and significant traffic in a rapidly growing area in Cedar Park, Texas (north of Austin). 

However:Strategic Tax Planning: Work with a CPA who specializes in real estate to maximize deductions like depreciation, interest, and operating costs.Higher Rents for Premium Properties: Some investors offset the tax by focusing on properties in high-demand areas (downtown Greenville or near universities, for example) where they can charge a premium rent.Short-Term Rentals (STRs): Consider STRs like Airbnb, where higher nightly rates can make the numbers work better than long-term rentals.