Also, I'm technically retired (from the military) so I should be relaxing a little more.

I would think after a busy day at the attractions most would just want to relax in a comfortable, clean quality house in their own pool...but, I could be wrong and the club houses, arcades, water parks, bars, theaters...could attract more vacationers.. 

  #1 is right and good and a barrier that will relax with linear instead of exponential growth (the market told me to #FlattenTheCurve)#2 is not right nor good, but is reality, so it's like a mountain in a landscape that we have to realize and work with.

You need to relax from the sounds of things.       

But some have obviously tried to crush my hopes of getting deals by flexing large corporate muscle.

Most coops & their boards don't allow relaxed subletting for owners to place tenants. - "Deal-flow" from a real estate investing perspective is just that.

If so, the growth path might be your cup of tea.On the other hand, do you prefer a more relaxed experience with steady rewards and less excitement?

While other wholesalers are relaxing at home and waiting for a deal to fall into their lap, you'll be out making things happen.

Housing is the main large expense, so you may be able to relax that number.Whatever you do, don't go off your gut feeling.

2nd @Natalia Collini  I'd leverage on a fixer-upper apartment complex, rehab, get it filled, refi, pull all the cash out that you can, get a solid PM company to run it, and relax.