I own over 150 units in the Pittsburgh market and work as an agent here as well so I've seen plenty of investors succeed and plenty of others fail.

The great thing about them is that if one unit becomes vacant, the other units can still help cover your mortgage.

Some common paths are single-family rentals, multifamily units, house flipping, or short-term rentals.

You can always start off by house hacking meaning you live in one UNIT or ROOM and renting out the other vacant units/rooms to offset your monthly mortgage payment.There are several ways to run and make sure you are maximizing your rental income while keeping your living expense as low as possible.

You can put as low as 3.5%-5% down payment and rent out the vacant units to offset your mortgage as we all call it Househack @Carlos Valencia @Albert Bui

The fastest way back is getting a full time job or acquire rental properties/units/apt's since rental income can be used instantly (75% of gross - PITIA monthly payment = net rental Income asap/instantly).All other forms of full doc income receipt of the income to utilize it on a loan application like alimony (needs 3-6 months of receipt + 36 months of continuation).

Buying a duplex to house hack—living in one unit while renting the other—could be a great move if you want to keep building your portfolio.

Also an experienced mortgage lender at United Mortgage Corp based in Woodbury -Long Island NY, I proudly serve clients across New York, New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

We used to get as many as we wanted for 5- 10k per unit now, 40- 65k .IMO in 5- 8 years or so you will not recognize the Euclid Corridor from Little Italy ( well just east)  to the RTA, why do you think there is zero inventory? 

@Matthew PlatonWould you be able to split the utility bill, and have the tenant pay for their unit?