With the COVID-era surge in home prices, rapid increases in mortgage rates, and rents not keeping pace, it really has gotten harder to make these deals work.

For example we invest in mortgage notes so we have an AI agent that only scans the documents we have and lists and if we asked a question like "who are our top rates attorneys in texas", it will give me the results vs. having to search files.

That said, if your goal is rapid cash flow growth, a 1031 exchange into higher-yield properties could help you scale faster.

We have a VA so she does all the tagging and I ask her to export it from Baselane, into excel, then I review it and give comments.Going Digital: Scanning and storing my receipts in real time saves me from searching for that one $17 plumbing supply receipt.

If the market is appreciating rapidly, I'm with you—equity growth takes the lead.

Would real estate prices in certain regions rise rapidly due to demand from both local and international buyers? 

Qualified applicants that get priced out of rapidly improving neighborhoods will move into these areas but it seems like they aren’t biting.High quality, lower income applicants aren’t stupid and they won’t settle.If you think this area is a losing proposition, I would think about selling and not banking on hope.In regard to vacancy, I don’t consider any area that has average occupancy (economic and physical) below 95%You might pay more for a better area but time will treat you right and you’ll make a ton of money in equity over the long term.

Ideally it should still cash flow solidly but may not appreciate quite as rapidly as the bigger market.

I’ve been scanning the market and come to understand as my first investment I’ll probably have to find an apartment/condo something like that and I typically hear of STRs typically making more cash flow etc.

One of the best resources I’ve spotted for honest property management feedback-beyond scanning Google-is checking local Facebook investor groups and seeing who people recommend.Anyway, Ethan, since you’ve done a bunch of data crunching: have you or anyone else revisited these numbers more recently, and if so, how have shifting mortgage rates or local employment trends changed your approach?