They also tend to offer good cash flow relative to their cost, especially in areas with high demand for affordable housing.

I'd recommend looking at costs. your build cost is going to be well over other homes because of the fixed costs like slab, Hvac, roof, etc. check the market drivers and weight the benefits of short term versus long term. long term is no furniture and help pays mortgage but at this size it doesn't really cover everything. we didn't find a lot of economies of scale in single family detached. can you build more than one unit?

So a room used for laundry that is 100 sq ft (quite common) costs the owner about $72,000 over the course of a decade (in today's dollars). 

There will be a huge gap between coverages and replacement costs. - Renters are majority uninsured. - In September 2024 the FAIR Plan had $6B in exposure to the Palisades alone.

Tenant stopped paying rent before 2 months of the lease expiring, property manager filed for eviction process but tenant vacated the property before sheriff served the notice.

You can contribute by finding deals or managing properties in exchange for a share of the profits.Lease Options: Control properties without owning them by renting with an option to buy, and potentially sublease for profit.Owner Financing: Buy properties directly from sellers willing to finance, bypassing traditional lenders and often requiring less upfront money.REIGs: Join real estate investment groups to pool funds with others for property investments.For a more hands-off approach, investing in turnkey properties in growing markets with minimal upfront investment would be ideal (like in the Southeast and Midwest of the country).

Having local family gave me a built-in support system, market familiarity, and the confidence to manage a property from a distance if needed.

Far more than most real estate acitivies and much quicker think about it.. you sell the same info over and over and get paid instantly you have no roofs to fix no tenants to manage etc etc.. you do have reputation management of course.

Quote from @Stepan Hedz: Selling fees (estimate), $30,000, and holding costs?

Purchase price: $250,000 Cash invested: $14,000 I purchased and managed a rental property in Chicago, focusing on strategic improvements and tenant satisfaction to increase both its value and profitability.