Clark-Fulton close to Metro is still on the rougher side and a bit of ways away from being a STR location.

We made the mistake of buying a brand new Toyota and a 41 ft camper (financed).

@Brick Biermann, Your actually still in the window to take advantage of both a primary residence sale and a 1031 exchange. 

Meaning 10k turns into 800k by retirement - that is truly powerful stuff.Once you have a good portion in the markets and a healthy savings account then dip your toes into RE!

We used to do back to back closing with no money required but due to title company policies, lender disclosure requirements, and a variety of Federal and State laws this may no longer be practical.  

I am sorry to hear that (and a little worried).

The real money is in Chick Fil A or Raising Cane's where they pay tons of rent and usually do more sales than Starbucks, Mcdonalds, and a Subway store put together.Now of course the diamond tenants that pay lots of rent want the best locations as it's not really about the rent they pay it's more about how much sales per foot they think they can generate and profit for the site.Example a restaurant could pay 100k in rent but do 1.5 million in sales for 7.5 percent rent to sales ratio.

Maybe folks are not ready to buy, but it kind of whets their appetite to see what's out there in terms of the most unique properties and as a result, what may be some good markets to buy when they are ready. 

personal savings and a home loan What was the outcome?

Maybe folks are not ready to buy, but it kind of whets their appetite to see what's out there in terms of the most unique properties and as a result, what may be some good markets to buy when they are ready.