As a new real estate investor you have to establish some business goals, if you want to treat it as a business and not a hobby.  

(Only if you are SERIOUS about real estate as your wealth/career vehicle.)Make sure you join a brokerage that is large, established, and has a reputation for top performance and excellent training.Once you learn the basics and get out into the field to see the state of the market, you'll learn the price points and be able to know a good/great deal when you stumble across it.I have made some of my best (most lucrative) buys from meeting with a seller who wants to list, and when we discussed the price, I knew it fit my parameters, so I bought it! 

The risk in lifting these houses is there's not a clearly established market for flood damaged homes that have been elevated.

However, it's essential to fully comprehend the terms and conditions and carefully estimate cash flow, factoring in potential market fluctuations.FHA Loan and Work History:Waiting for another year to establish a two-year work history for better FHA loan approval terms is a patient strategy.

Also father/son dynamics at an age where the son is trying to establish his independence is trying on both of us.I did not push son in direction of RE, he considered various options and chose RE. 

Now it’s probably the Midwest,But my the time you get to the Midwest and establish a footprint and “street credibility” with the brokers and sellers another market may be strong.If you are going to invest out of area, you will need to spend “face to face” “boots on the ground time” there.

We need to establish a contract (or shop around for reputable companies that are willing to do this).

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

For illustration purposes, the investor with engineering and/or construction background may excel building in a market where there is ease in doing business and can build efficiently whereas the doctor may have greater success in the established market where significant barriers already exist but can afford the entry price and can ride the waive of continued appreciation and offset their high salary by depreciating the expensive building they acquired.  

If you can establish a solid network (even virtually at first), and maybe leverage your savings to buy a property with rehab in mind, the reward could be the path you're looking for to make those five-year goals a reality.Of course, the risks are there, but if you're comfortable and see the upside, it could be worth leaning into.If you need more insight into BRRRR execution or anything specific about market selection and building a remote team, feel free to ask.Hope that helps!