I then look at area vacancies, economic conditions, employment opportunities, area demographics and verify that the property has not been red tagged or have any other underlying problems that might make it difficult to resell or rent.When I have my financial information then I can consider debt service and costs related to equity partners in the overall income produced.

If you don't have that, keep earning, saving, and managing the risk you take by investing in REITs (which is small but risk still exists).If you already have at least $100k to invest, and you're wondering where to start as an OOS investor, I recommend this dataset that we at BiggerPockets put together specifically for people like you and me.https://www.biggerpockets.com/resources/housing-market-data/...It contains information like job growth, population growth, and rent-price ratio for all markets to compare and contrast.

If you invest into an area that has strong growth and good employment numbers it can overcome many other Cons.  

THAT will, at some future date - about four years or so, put you in position to employ the mortgage acceleration strategy.If you have too much month left at the end of the money, well, there ARE debt reduction strategies available to help that at the expense of your credit rating - WITHOUT bankruptcy.

If your student loans are only 3-5% interest, that's pretty good so I think it's okay to pay those off over time.It sounds like you're making good income with your current employer and there is room to grow, so I'd plan to stay with that job until you can pay your high interest loans off and save enough for a down payment for your first property.

Low crime, steady employment opportunities in the surrounding areas as well as Appleton. 

In contrast, private lenders focus more on the value of the asset, offering faster, more flexible loans for projects like fix-and-flips or rentals, which can be crucial in time-sensitive deals.It really boils down to your priorities and preferences.

My employer never had such a requirement.  

Both offer fixed rates and 30-year terms as a nice contrast to commercial financing.

You could also ask the employer if they can spread out the bonus over multiple years.