Also, I had to make some assumptions, like your closing costs will only be $3k and you will only put away 5% of your income for repairs and another 5% for big ticket items and you will only have 5% vacancy rate.  10% is probably a smarter choice. 

If I had to buy a plane ticket every time I found a house I liked I'd be broke.

Do you know there are no major structural problems or other big-ticket items?

Investors sometimes think they can get a cheap policy and then drop big ticket claims on the insurance.

Word of caution; be wary of anyone implying something is a free meal ticket.

But if I parked on the street and found my car had been towed and a valet ran interference with multiple agencies, negotiated a fair unlock fee with the towing company, ensured nobody had put a lien on the ticket, and then was there to help you jump start the car, I'd probably pay the valet more than a tip.

You would likely need to be prepared to show the home is up to code on big-ticket items like electrical, HVAC, etc.

So… it seems to me that the co-op is a bird-in-hand, a place where we would like to live, and potentially a lottery ticket if it goes condo… but really not a good option for my favorite real estate strategy (BRRRR)On the other hand, if we find a house in Gulfport (my favorite neighborhood), we can BRRRR it (my favorite strategy)….

Replacing all of the plumbing and wiring will both be big ticket items.

Now if you were to expand that “escrow” to saving for the roof, siding, driveway replacement, and other big ticket items you might expand your buyer pool but not by a whole lot.