As rental rates increase, cash flow becomes strongly positive.  

We've got strong job growth (tech, healthcare, education), stable population growth, strong rental demand, and plenty of value-add opportunities in multifamily.

I'm not sure why not - one of the great parts about real estate investing is that you can build a team around you for aspects you aren't as strong at or simply want to delegate to someone/expert and do the others yourself - look up "Core 4" for example - where you can have an agent, lender, manager, contractor all at once for your investments and can theoretically just let them do all the interactive work

If you're looking for software with strong rental accounting capabilities though, there are apps that have this functionality built into them (rather than paying extra through RentRedi to use the REI Hub.

Tax Savings:While it’s true that the stock market has been strong, real estate offers unique tax advantages that aren’t available with other asset classes.

Like you said, it was a strong seller's market then with steep appreciation, multiple offers, way over-asking price offers, escalating clauses, appraisal gap coverage, buyers waiving all contingencies, etc.

It might be helpful to narrow down your options by focusing and researching for markets with strong rental demand, growing job markets, and property prices that fit within your budget.

You can certainly find a property for cash flow that may also bring you a strong return on that investment.

We also have a very strong rental market, and that too has high demand from investors wanting to purchase. 

@Josh LansberryIt’s exciting that you’re ready to take action in the Raleigh/Research Triangle market, an area with strong growth potential.