My wife and I both have decent paying jobs, but after paying rent, vehicles, student loans, etc, there’s not much left over for saving, let alone 20% down.

Unkempt lawns, trashy or broken down vehicles, mattresses and trash on empty lots, boarded up houses, bars on windows, dealers and hookers on the corners, the lack of stores or gas stations, occupied properties are dilapidated, etc.Or when Google maps shows stuff like this:

Yes, I learned through the BP podcasts that these vehicles are out there. 

In fact, it often appreciates.To go a little deeper:Depreciation was designed for assets that wear out or become obsolete over time, like machinery or vehicles.

Deal makers- development potential, vehicles per day, road ingress egress off highway, signage potential, multiple road accesses, value add potential- housing- trees, boulders, ponds, walkout, views, right side of town, power-line right of ways, etc6.

(Only if you are SERIOUS about real estate as your wealth/career vehicle.)Make sure you join a brokerage that is large, established, and has a reputation for top performance and excellent training.Once you learn the basics and get out into the field to see the state of the market, you'll learn the price points and be able to know a good/great deal when you stumble across it.I have made some of my best (most lucrative) buys from meeting with a seller who wants to list, and when we discussed the price, I knew it fit my parameters, so I bought it! 

I recommend a few things:  define what you want to achieve and why investing in the US is the vehicle to achieving that ROI. 

Take short-term rentals - they do provide several tax benefits, but they are hard to run and very hard to succeed at so people make the mistake of choosing the tax vehicle, get the benefit, and then lose money on the investment and hate it.

Make sure to work with a forestry professional to ensure sustainable harvesting practices.Rent it for Storage or Equipment: With the rise of RVs, boats, and large equipment, you can rent out part of the land as storage space for these vehicles.

Additionally, since you need to replace your vehicle soon, you should consider how that $30k purchase fits into your overall budget.Take a close look at the current housing market in Orlando, where prices are around $400k for decent homes.