Think about all of our parents or grandparents that lived through the Great Depression and then spent the rest of their lives preparing for another. 

Like children of the Depression, the traumatic events of their youth will influence their attitudes and behavior for a long time.

After the depressing calls I had yesterday my month of studying may be all for nothing.

@Michael Szypulinski SFH and smaller MF can sometime use seller financing but when in larger 100+ unit MF space the seller financing is usually not an option unless the asset is extremely depressed.

I want to enter the RE game very soon because during the 2008 crisis, many millionaires were made, and I don’t want to miss out during the worst one since the Great Depression.

What most investors around the country don't know is that area has been through cycles of revitalization and depression, and was as of recent in a revitalization cycle, this could catapult it back significantly, that's my #1 fear and uncertainty. 

The Great Depression and the Financial Crisis. 

How do I find a 'good deal' in such a depressed area?

But I'm not sure if this is going to de-value SFHs because a glut of new housing would be coming online and thus depressing rents, or if it would increase the value of SFHs because they would become a scarce commodity.

It has a few manufacturing facilities and a college but overall it seems like not a lot is happening there and it is fairly depressing.