local REIA groups are filled with investors looking to buy properties.

but you will have appreciation and equity paydown, but so would any property you buy with financing.  

Too bad you can't buy something owner-occupied, put 5% down with the best interest rate, live in it for 12 months (and fix it up), rent it out and repeat the cycle.Here's some other info you might find useful:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I know a few investors in college towns who make a killing from buying homes, renovating, then renting out to multiple students per each room.

The type of home you buy determines the tenant you get. 

South Utah County and the Eagle Mountain area are where I would be buying and specifically new construction and small cheap single-family homes.

The process of buying, getting a loan and settling to closing was extremely smooth.

If you are using it to buy a turnkey property which needs to produce cash flow to be considered a viable deal how does buying turnkey(Little to no cash flow) combined with HML(High interest only debt) make alot of sense financially? 

Yes, you can deduct related expenses including gas, loan interest, insurance, etc. using the actual vehicle expenses method to deduct auto expenses for your rental or other businesses. 

Deciding to buy a duplex or SFH.