State average homeowners insurance rates indicate the risk of natural disasters.Information Sources for Data-Driven Decision MakingUtilize these resources to gather the necessary data for your city selection process:Population Size and Growth: Wikipedia's Metropolitan Statistical Area pageAppreciation Rates by Zip Code: Zillow ResearchCrime Rate: Avoid investing in cities on this list.Comparative Homeowners Insurance: ValuePenguinProperty Taxes: LendingTree (as an indicator of overall operating costs)The Importance of Local ExpertiseWhile research and data are essential, remember that general knowledge only goes so far.

Law enforcement is now targeting third parties involved in “cooking the books” that “force by fraud” qualify clients for Covid-19 relief.

And, even then, hitting your rate target would still be extremely challenging unless you were paying points up front, in which case it would probably make more sense to just try to put in a bigger down payment (or pay down the balance if refi) instead and get better terms naturally offered at the lower LTV.

Looking to learn how your experience was with going through the permitting process in the city and if you used any vendors that were a positive resource for the process.

From a personal standpoint I target 70% LTV for any investment I have that way gives me ability to sell it if I need too

I definitely would recommend each of them - very resourceful and of course, investor-friendly.

Pool your resources (your $100k with what they can contribute).

A handy search bar in the upper right makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources.

The #1 resource for me has been other investors. 

My wife and I have overhauled our personal budget to reflect the 'pay yourself first' approach (allocate in order: income comes in -> invest -> donate -> fixed expenses -> variable expenses -> fun $$).We are looking to see what experienced people generally recommend for a holding tank for that 'invest' allocation while we target our first real estate deal.What financial vehicles have you guys used that works well for this?