To answer your questions about real estate schools, I just went through Kevo University, they were competitively priced. 

It's really competitive market and you need to have your ducks in a row to move on something when you've found it.

Am interested in finding opportunities in these regions but from a far it looks substantially more competitive than what I am used to.

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.

Single-family home sales jumped 13.2 percent year-over-year, with 6,044 units sold, marking the eighth consecutive month of positive sales;The Days on Market (DOM) figure for single-family homes was unchanged at 68 days;Total property sales surged 14.9 percent, with 7,393 units sold;Total dollar volume increased 19.4 percent to about $2.1 billion;The single-family home median price rose 5.2 percent to $245,000, reaching a February high;The single-family home average price climbed 5.9 percent to a February high of $301,648;Single-family homes months of inventory was at a 3.5-months supply, down fractionally from 3.6 months last February but above the national inventory level of 3.1 months;Townhome/condominium sales rose for a third straight month – up 12.8 percent, with the average price up 14.5 percent to $216,170 and the median price up 16.5 percent to $176,500;Lease properties experienced a mixed performance, as single-family home rentals increased 5.8 percent with the average rent up 1.8 percent to $1,768;Volume of townhome/condominium leases fell 2.2 percent with the average rent up 3.5 percent to $1,607.

pid=1704Houston Real Estate Highlights in February:-Single-family home sales jumped 13.2 percent year-over-year, with 6,044 units sold, marking the eighth consecutive month of positive sales;-The Days on Market (DOM) figure for single-family homes was unchanged at 68 days;-Total property sales surged 14.9 percent, with 7,393 units sold;-Total dollar volume increased 19.4 percent to about $2.1 billion;-The single-family home median price rose 5.2 percent to $245,000, reaching a February high;-The single-family home average price climbed 5.9 percent to a February high of $301,648;-Single-family homes months of inventory was at a 3.5-months supply, down fractionally from 3.6 months last February but above the national inventory level of 3.1 months;-Townhome/condominium sales rose for a third straight month – up 12.8 percent, with the average price up 14.5 percent to $216,170 and the median price up 16.5 percent to $176,500;-Lease properties experienced a mixed performance, as single-family home rentals increased 5.8 percent with the average rent up 1.8 percent to $1,768;-Volume of townhome/condominium leases fell 2.2 percent with the average rent up 3.5 percent to $1,607.

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

At the moment I'm only realizing a small fraction of this loss on my personal return because my W-2 income is close to the upper MAGI limitation per page 5 of the 2019 Partner's Instructions for Schedule K-1 (Form 1065). 

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?