There are cheaper one’s in D/F areas but I would be careful as those can create a laundry list of additional issues.

Be prepared to come in with additional cash to close due the the appraisal.   

Additionally, listing brokers represent what seller's provide them. 

Metro area.George Mason is similarly developing 345,000 square feet for a new building called the Fuse at Mason Square at its Arlington Campus, which will be fully open in August of 2025 and will house 1,000 more new students in the technology field and 300 additional faculty, continuing to bring more highly skilled talent to the technology sector in the area (Source)The Virginia Tech campus was part of a deal made between the state of Virginia and Amazon, who agreed to add a 2nd Headquarters just up the road from the campus and to use the campus to attract high-quality talent to Amazon.

Additionally, I wanted to begin using properties to pull equity to go towards buying more.

Considering that, you are likely going to see appreciation year over year, which essentially will be additional equity you'd capture just by simply living in the home. 

Also if the whole property or the yard is fenced then an additional barrier fence around the pool itself isn’t required.

I'll just add that in addition to offsetting future tax liability, I'd like to offset current taxes as well, during my highest earning years. 

In short, I can afford the additional $1100/mo cost of a second house, even until I rent it out.I have around $35K in HYSA and emergency funds that I could use for a down payment, but that's less than 20% which would be required for a conventional loan, assuming full purchase price.

@Fulati Paerhati, sounds good, I sent a connect request with some additional information for you to consider.Look forward to connecting.