Also, now that my W2 has gone fully remote due to the pandemic, we’re considering relocating our family out of the DC area and settling down in the Carolinas somewhere.

That said, I am going to use these next few months to practice analyzing deals, and expanding my network.  

Over the past few days, this has definitely helped my overall energy levels and mood.Thank you for offering a few resources and some practical things that I can apply.

I am starting my first remodel project in Austin, Texas.. would love to connect with anyone to learn best practices, do's and dont's, and just discuss the process in general Any advice would be much appreciated!

I'd say no since you're asking our opinion.Your practical options are:1) Sit down in a friendly setting with the Owner, ask him to open his books a little so you can see the hardship he is facing...negotiate a slightly lower profit margin for him, if he will and I'd think he might...no one wants to walk on a contract like this. 2) Walk away from this deal and find another Contr.

@Jay Hinrichs where do you see affordable housing, where there are jobs, and families could relocate to?

But they have their own living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, office - it's a completely separate space in practice.

I'm actually relocating to the Atlanta area and looking for primary residence.  

@Kelsey Bailey  I was relocating to Georgia and everything fell thru at the last minute. 

@Jack Calhoun There are a few "rules of thumb" but ultimately, you'll need to do a full underwriting on a property before you actually put in an offer.I would suggest finding a good property analyzer spreadsheet and getting enough practice that you can quickly do an initial analysis within 30 mins or so.Some things to look for in a property analyzer: Allow for separate entry and exit cap-rateMin 5 year forecastinput for rent/expense growth on each yearincludes rehab and capex costsincludes debt service and financing costsincludes acquisition and disposition costsProvided IRR for planned exitHonestly, there's a ton more bells and whistles you could add, but I would consider that the baseline if you're talking about deals that size.Hope that helps!