Prices in Austin are pretty high, and the market is pretty hot so I thought I would start close to my hometown in Florida, which is appreciating but less competitive. 

In my area, rentals are hard to come by so competition to get them is very hard.

Global market uncertainty around COVID-19Largest drop in oil price in decades to a level predicted to be sustained for at least 2-3 years?

“Urban Markets Face Far Higher Risk Than Leisure Destinations.”Source: https://www.airdna.co/blog/coronavirus-impact-on-global-short-term-rental-markets

With SS becoming more popular it just naturally becomes more competitive driving cap rates down and values up.

The mortgage industry tapped out due to capacity issues, no one in mortgage said "man we need to staff up in case we get hit with a global pandemic" a year ago, and as a result no one is staffed for this.

When I started I house hacked then did BRRRR deals and owner finances because they allowed me to have little to no money in the deal (and in some instances get paid at closing) so I could continue to buy more rentals.It's all about finding the right deal that fits your goals and competitive advantages.How are you finding deals?

You'll find you have slightly less competition in FV than the hot spots in Wisconsin right now.

Eventually, you will build up your D.T.I. and global D.S.C. to the point that you will not be able to employ that strategy.  

Reasons are lack of knowledge, lack of expertise and experience, under capitalized, too much competition, don’t like the work required, lack of time, frustration, inability to stand large amount of frustration, legal requirements not being met, disappointing results.