An emergency fund needs to be liquid, and immediately available to you in addition to being low risk and protecting principle. 

I would just be careful hopping back in now as interest rates and low inventory are making it very difficult if you aren't finding your own off-market options to buy.

Strong job growth, low unemployment rate, and strong population growth.

The appraiser gave the house a low score so the bank said it is a risky investment for them and gave me a 70% loan.

Start networking with other investors to increase your access to real estate deals.Put your house on the market yourself on Zillow and Facebook marketplace and see if you can sell it yourself as a seller finance deal on what is called a wrap mortgage; especially if you have a low interest.

. - There are very low management costs since the property has long term tenants that take care of their own repairs.

Thanks Jack for your response, I am trying to avoid condo because of the low appreciation issues.

Today, I analyzed over 10 condos, and while I found one with a positive cash-on-cash return, it was far from impressive.I’d love to hear from experienced condo investors about why this type of real estate might make sense despite the low cash-on-cash returns and HOA fees that cannot be influenced.As a bonus, if anyone has purchased investment properties for their children with a similar goal, I’d really appreciate any insights about your process or results.I am looking at buying 2 investment condos for my children to pay for their college tuition in 13-15 years.

I checked the city's website and the plots fall into their "Low Density Neighborhood" district.

(Churches are surprisingly low value structures.