We don't allow any "deal-making" in the forums, which includes advertising your services or properties, looking for partners, etc.

Can anyone suggest beach markets in SC and/or GA that allow STRs and cash flow with 20% down?

Real estate is and always will be a good idea because it allows you to create lasting generational wealth and leverage cold, hard, tangible assets!

.- Many of these HCOL areas also have strict limitations on AirBnB or short-term rentals... that do not apply to owner-occupants - thus allowing for extreme cashflow potential for house-hackers.

This would allow you to defer the capital gains tax, and instead of taking a large tax hit, you would be able to use the tax to invest in a nicer property/properties.

I use the fix and flip tab and it's great it tells me my allowable offer and all the tools are helpful!

Also, if the property doesn’t cash flow or cash flows poorly as your summary indicates, coming up with a creative financing strategy that allows for greater cash flow doesn’t necessarily make it a good purchase or investment.

However, after you get some experience, you probably want to get a Private Lender since this will allow you to keep the majority of the profits.

Off the bat, I had a few questions that hopefully someone more experienced can help: 1. do auctions allow financing after winning the bid, or do they require entire amount to be immediately wired? 

A cash-out refi could allow you to set aside some funds as a reserve or at least pay down your debts so that your lines of credit (credit cards etc) can act as your emergency reserve when more bad things happen.