On my side, 5 houses is typically going to be close to a $1M portfolio and we have 400+ investors who have eclipsed that number.  

Plus, the appreciation you will get out here will eclipse any cash flow you get from cheaper markets. 

Also check eclipse for rental license records.

The largest cities in the US are growing at less than half the rate of Columbus...in the next 50-years Columbus will eclipse locations like San Jose, Dallas, San Diego, and soon, Chicago...Full Report

And you have now updated eclipse system where you and/or your contractor can apply for any permit online. 

You can go on to their online portal "eClipse" and get most of your permits.

My only hesitations are obviously all that's going on right now with COVID-19, and I just saw that the number of unemployment claims eclipsed 3.3 million last week.

As I scale the BRRRR strategy, taking on 1-2 properties/year (ballpark), won't my debt eventually eclipse my W2 income and thus disqualify me from additional loans? 

After 9 months I Refi the property with Eclipse bank ( smaller bank)(closing cost 3k) ran into a 1 problem the house had gas heaters that count as space heaters in the home appraisel so the underwriter would not approve unless we had HVAC, so I went through with installing the Hvac bc I plan on moving and section 8 this house (6k) the house appraised at 139k, I have no $ in this deal and 30K in equity, 2/18/2020 complete1. make sure you find a loan officer that is knowledgeable, upfront, and credible (they stick to what they say) I didn't like either bank I did business with ( I will try a different bank next time)2. make sure you know the credit score it takes to get a refi usually the better the score the less it will cost you3. make sure the bank that you choose gives you the ARV of the home not what you bought the home for and how much you put into the home4.

L&I launches new/updated Eclipse system starting March 16th.