In addition, some of those fire victims can afford to pay top of market price for homes. 

Odds are your newer builds are on the outskirts of a city into the suburbs where people fight to get a property if it’s affordable.

Durham tends to offer slightly better cash flow opportunities compared to Raleigh, especially if you’re targeting neighborhoods that are up-and-coming but still affordable.

Udemy and Coursera have affordable options, and they could help you feel more confident when pitching yourself.It sounds like you’re in a great position to get started.

From my experience, you can use that savings to house hack with an FHA loan, invest in a turnkey property in a more affordable market, or even partner with others to expand your purchasing power.

For example, Southern Spain tends to be more affordable than the north, especially if you look at rural areas or small villages.

I don't think we will be able to afford a 1.5M+ mortgage without a huge down payment (sale of our house).I feel this would be going backwards as we would focus on one property preventing us to do other things.

That being said due to the number of sharks out there I would only spend money that I can afford to lose. 

Given your goals, Indy could be a great fit—affordable pricing, solid appreciation, and strong Section 8 demand with reliable property management options.

People start moving in with their TOH homes (back in the day when everyone could afford one) and the park starts to fill up.