With all the competition from DC, MD, PA, NY, DE they are doomed until they find a new business model not involving gambling.

Seattle especially is pretty much all gambling on appreciation at this point, as the properties are valued so high that cash flow is extremely low to actually being negative. 

My immediate goal is to immerse myself in the industry, soaking up as much knowledge and experience as I can. 

That is gambling. 

"Gambling" that the value of the asset will increase also has its risks.

No way to make money on that deal if there is no equity and if it is underwater.If you could get it for $0 down with her carrying the mortgage, and it would cash flow well, it would still be a gamble to consider but the risk would still be on her. 

If you really want to gamble your risks would be lower at the race track.

I’ve grown up immersed in the real estate realm.

Try walking into your bank and asking for a 30 year loan to buy some bitcoin lol.Personally feel like bitcoin is nothing more than gambling. 

Our immersion in the details of crises that have arisen over the past eight centuries and in data on them has led us to conclude that the most commonly repeated and most expensive investment advice ever given in the boom just before a financial crisis stems from the perception that 'this time is different.'