Starting with a smaller property or a few fix-and-flip projects can help you build equity, gain credibility with lenders, and better understand the process before scaling up.Securing funding for larger projects can be challenging without prior experience, but options like hard money loans might be worth exploring.

I’m a fan of leverage to scale up and ramp up my passive income.

Given the size of the asset, these won't be huge, but something to consider.REWARD - In addition to the benefits stated above, the only other reason I could see doing one on an asset this size is if you wanted to offset a property sale that would have a large capital gains. 

We are looking to do long-term rentals for a buy-and-hold strategy, starting to build up our portfolio and gain momentum. 

Investing close to home allows you to gain hands-on experience, learn the ropes, and be more involved in the day-to-day.

My advice would be to start small with your first deals to gain experience before scaling up.

The great thing about living in a high cost of living area is that your salary / wages are hopefully also very high.If you are a new college grad, I would focus the next 1-3 years on increasing your salary as much as possible(gain new skills, new certifications, change employers, etc).Once you make more money, you can easily get in a position to buy a property on a more frequent basis.Best of luck!

I am planning to get into the TN real estate market as my first investment and am looking for some information.In particular: Areas to steer clear of, property management fees, typical cosmetic rehab costs, etc.My strategy is to put large down payments on 2 properties (relative to housing prices) to help pay for my living in NY while still gaining appreciation in a growing real estate market.

You'll gain valuable insights into evaluating deals, financing, and managing properties.Local NetworkingPlug into local investor meetups in your area, the Pensacola area should have tons of groups.

Once you've gained enough experience, you can transition to more BRRRR projects.