Like you said in your post, "Buying and holding is a long term strategy...............focus on the end goal"The second reason for trying to get good deals is that if you can get a 10-20% built in equity off the bat, it has the advantage of:- taking a big part of the risk factor off the table- built in equity that can be utilized as required- better cash flowThere are a lot of people on BPs that say that "money is made on the front end in RE".

No kidding.. each Jurisdiction is unique..

Plus, living in the property gives you the unique advantage of understanding it inside and out.. making you a better landlord when you eventually rent out all the units.If I were you, I’d prioritize properties with room for rent increases or small upgrades that could boost value.

Cheap rates and modern tech are great, but none of that matters if they can't actually get you to the closing table.

I’m curious if the process in NYC is similarly structured, where it’s difficult but feasible to follow through, or if there are unique barriers that make it much harder or even impractical.If anyone has insights or could answer a few questions, I’d really appreciate it!

Just wondering how you feel about the unique challenges NOLA has relative to economy & climate change (insurance), population decline.  

No, meaning that if you had professional support it's likely they helped you set the table for later.This much structure with five properties can be overload and proper planning.

I think a post on unique ways to obtain PML would be beneficial!

The downside of that is I am leaving money on the table.

Is the house hack strategy off the table?