At the time, I had just graduated with a physics degree, landed a great job in the Bay Area, and was newly married.

Going through my real estate journey I have learned a lot, I am 24, a veteran and a graduate from Temple University,I started with aspirations of investing on a property and making a quick flip.My problem lied with fear of failing, my capital and my savings.I decided I wanted to learn the real estate market and know the ins and outs before I would make a bold choice on buying my first real estate home.

Use median household income by zip code (and school rankings, to a much lesser extent). 

I know the university, the med school, and the hospital are there, so surely an MTR would work well.

Me and my partner moved from Utah to Maryland for school recently and we have a townhouse that we are looking to rent. we are currently remodeling and changing a few things before renting. what are the first steps to change my primary to a rental I lived there for about two years.

The schools are definitely great in Gilbert, which is always great for appreciation.

Knoxville isn't a luxury market. widen the gap and do new construction. find infill plots of land in better locations and have more control. work closely with a builder who Is working with investors. we have flippers who did hundreds of flips then they graduate to new builds and say it's much easier. if you have the balance sheet you'll be fine. budget 20%. new construction commands a 20% premium and is much easier to duplicate Over and over and much less risk. 

You mentioned student housing - What schools are they near? 

The royalties are graduated, and the more deals you do, the more royalties fall.

I have two kids in middle school and I'm trying to get myself ready to retire by 55.