While Johnson City might not have the pull of Pigeon Forge, it offers an authentic mountain experience that could attract hikers, history buffs, and visitors to nearby national parks.

This keeps you from cutting corners or hesitating on necessary repairs.7.Stay on top of rent increases & lease renewals.

Not only does it hurt the returns, it is a very attractive target for ambulance-chasing lawyers and title fraud.  

Rent rates have increased so quickly over the last few years.

How much will the increased cashflow supplement your anticipated SSI?

If this property is hard to rent, or is functionally obsolescent (only 1 bathroom, no yard, etc), or has deferred maintenance that will be costly, or is in a location that is not appealing to Tenants, then maybe a sale would be a good option in favor of a property that has better Tenant appeal, which will likely increase rent and avoid long vacancies in between Tenants.An option to consider....

Peter Lohmann’s newsletter is a solid source for staying on top of national trends; I’d recommend subscribing if you haven’t already.In Texas, I’ve noticed increased activity, especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

However based on these experiences still seem too risky versus just going after some of the options with RealCrowd that seem attractive and proven. 

My plan for this year is improve my credit, get my real estate license (to increase my income on top of my W-2), possibly career transition into the property management space (to learn more), and save as much as possible and learn as much as I can.I’d love to house hack close to home but my area is so expensive it seems like it’d be close to impossible. 

Here’s a streamlined perspective:Your current approach, putting more down upfront, minimizes risk, increases cash flow faster, and allows you to build equity while reducing overall interest.