Warrenton has really grown up and RE is very expensive in comparison to GA, but as long as you don't have to commute to DC it's not bad quality of life.

I was fortunate that most of the expenses I had could be trimmed without any real impact to quality of life (no medical bills, no children, etc).

I also had a friend who had a 3bed 2bath with a house that was lower quality than mine and rented his rooms for 750 a room, covering his mortgage.To touch on appreciation, it does happen in Baltimore.

Great tenants are easy to find if you are providing a quality product in an area that people want to be. 

Right now my audio time is dedicated to hearing all of the BP podcast.

I'm really hoping to get some good qualities opinions about where to go from here.

Budget is important, but so is buying a quality home (not fancy, just solid and in a good area).You said your plan is to buy more rentals, so use that money as a down payment.

high quality furnishings and providing above average marketing to my listing sites.

If you pick a higher quality paint through Sherwin-Williams you can setup a contractor account first and save upwards of 20-25% off, or wait for a sale. 2.

Most of the quality multi families seems to be 700k+, but I think I can still find a property in a good neighborhood of Baltimore that fits the bill sub 450k