I work with many investors here on the coast with multiple strategies(long term rentals, short term rentals, flips, Brrrr deals).

It seems like you are doing rentals, which is much safer than strategies like flips/BRRRRs - paying off your rental would lose out of a lot of equity you can tap into.

Richmond is a wonderful place for real estate investing, with its expanding economy, variety of neighborhoods, and affordable property prices compared to bigger cities.If you want to further your real estate investment journey in Richmond, it's important to stay informed about market trends, connect with fellow investors, analyze properties thoroughly, consider various financing options, diversify your portfolio, manage your properties effectively, and stay well-informed about real estate investment strategies.

I’d first suggest figuring out what your goals/strategy is.

I cover Indianapolis and the surrounding ~30 miles and have clients doing both strategies.

Sellers motivation shouldn't factor in what you can afford, thats a bonus if they will negotiate, but your numbers have to make sense to you and work out for multiple exit strategies (str, ltr, sell etc)Running the purchase numbers is pretty straightforward, use almost any online mortgage calculator, make sure you know taxes and insurance (taxes will go up a bit if it is currently owner occupied and you don't plan to live in it) Once you know your mortgage amount then start looking at other STR's in the same area and same size/amenities and see what they are getting per night and how many nights a month they are rented to calculate what you MAY be able to get.

Here are two real world strategies that I used with my clients:Success story AStep 1: Bought a condo for $175,000 in 2013 in an up and coming area that cost less per month than market rent.

Look at their marketing strategy.

Being aware of your multiple exit strategys is important to know going into deals.

Also, have you considered other strategies like multi-units or STR/MTR?