Have plenty of properties to choose from, but I find mostly low income buyers who 'think' they can afford a lease option, but $700 a month (average buyer maximum amount) doesn't work for me.

How much risk can you afford?

Are there areas within driving distance that appeal to you and are more affordible then the one you are presently in?

As the housing market slumps, generally you would think rental market gets stronger since less people can afford to buy.Also, once you hold a property for over 2 years as a primary residence I believe you won't have to pay capital gains tax up to 250k, even if you start renting it after the 2 years---someone please confirm.I think a more important question is what your strategy is going forward.

I'm hoping the next deal will afford me either less rehab work/similar profit or larger profit considering I spent a couple months rehabbing the house....brand new everything.

The pool of potential buyers is small relative to the sweet spot in the market (bread and butter homes that the average worker in the area can afford).Similar to buying property at the top end of the market.

work towards it and no matter what, will it to happen, but be prepared to hit brickwalls at high speed.and in this scenario - get comps - use a buyers agent and offer what you can afford or what the rental will cash flow at comfortably.terms, price, conditions, etc - work them all out.

(not cheap) and have enough equity in it to start a venture off into a market where real estate is still affordable.

He already decided that he can afford the property when he signed the contract and presumably will be living there for many years to come so other than something that can be tapped into via a line of credit, equity is more conceptual than anything anyway until you sell a property.

If the developer goes out of business you have no guarantee.Third, the supply could exceed the demand so that after two years there is little rental demand at the guaranteed level.Fourth, your home is at risk if you pull out cash and then later can not afford to pay it back.Focus on reading here and learning your local market better.