Since you’re looking for insights from experience, I’ll weigh in on your two strategies and then toss in a third idea that might fit your goals, especially given your capital and openness to scale.

Your agent should be able to help with your deal analysis, consulting on whether a deal is good/bad, learning neighborhoods, estimating renovations, building your team, etc.

I know becoming a part time agent is one way, but where we live in south Florida seems to be overfilled with agents and I don't think its a great fit for us right now. 

What are the comps selling for (last 3-6 months)in the neighborhood?

Many of these areas also benefit from both rising home values and increasing rents.Ultimately, successful investing comes down to selecting a growing market, a strong neighborhood, and building a reliable team to support you.

In a great location and neighborhood.

@Tanya Maslach "I came away with several neighborhoods in Ohio"Ohio is on my radar for MTR, specifically rural areas in Columbus/Akron/Cleveland. 

My neighborhood is older and is mostly renters or lease-to-purchase owners.

I’m newer to Santa Fe though, but am eager to broaden my knowledge.What neighborhoods or property types in Santa Fe have you found especially promising?

There's micro neighborhoods that do very well, even in a macro declining population.