They’re local and are heavily involved in the local reia.

People who believe God believe Him enough to do what He says.Pursuing your passion is fulfilling and leads to financial freedom.When you change your NOW story, you instantly change your past story and your future story.Successful people rely heavily on their mentors.

Also, you are heavily dependent on a single tenant (like SFR) which is never good.

I am biased however, as I have invested heavily in the Mesa/Tempe/Chandler/Gilbert market.  

The ones I’d even be interested in are priced to high and/or in heavily saturated multi family areas.

If you have an agent, then you should work out the true fair market value of the home in its present condition, more commonly referred to as the as-is price.With 2 mortgages the 2nd usually gets reduced heavily.

This seems completely absurd for the light rehabs (paint, carpet, appliances, landscaping) I plan to start with, and it heavily favors the contracting industry.

In my research, some friends suggested I pursue Panama...and they have gotten heavily involved in representing developers from Panama in the US market.

Of course it will take more work than simply buying a move in ready home at full value, but there are creative ways to invest, where you wont have to dip so heavily into the funds available to you. 

You have to deal with a certain amount of shaddyness but for a heavily discounted property it is worth it.