Foreclosures and short sales have increased and started increase rapidly, and that is going off numbers.

Full ranking list:Overall RankCityTotal Score‘House-Flipping Market Potential’ Rank‘Renovation & Remodeling Costs’ Rank‘Quality of Life’ Rank1Sioux Falls, SD73.3866882Fort Wayne, IN69.379014473El Paso, TX69.1611710434Oklahoma City, OK69.001013585Lincoln, NE68.171838226Lubbock, TX67.881934397Tampa, FL67.82718628New Orleans, LA66.581371019Boise, ID65.5980112910Laredo, TX65.2358444611Tulsa, OK65.1512169712Corpus Christi, TX64.88149533213Nashville, TN64.1028158314Peoria, AZ63.778972415Cape Coral, FL63.5615751216Gilbert, AZ63.398162117Des Moines, IA63.295937618Pembroke Pines, FL63.2413614419Springfield, MO63.19122911620Grand Rapids, MI63.0735295721Colorado Springs, CO62.6549482822Chandler, AZ62.527545623Knoxville, TN62.4430412724Orlando, FL62.2839218725Tallahassee, FL62.1936309526Brownsville, TX62.15111278027Wichita, KS61.90150228228Lexington-Fayette, KY61.8016675629St.

Brian Walters You'll find you can offset the incremental income that comes from your RE investments, but there's nothing substantive that'll help with your W2 income as your W2 income rises above ~$200k yearly.To offset W2 tax burden, you really need to be doing something (related to RE or otherwise) that shows up somewhere other than schedule E.

I live in a popular and rapidly growing small city in the southeast.

Hence a rapid way to make a difference is to get a second job and pay down your debt.

Our business is RAPIDLY changing and our rates are not what they were during covid. 

I wouldn't worry about that, it's pretty much irrelevant since TX is a non-disclosure state and the appraisers can't keep up w/ the rapid movement in pricing.  

So the way I figure I have the following options:1) Buy 1 income property in a decent area ($500K+) somewhere and hope for the best and appreciation2) Buy 2 properties in less ideal locations and rent them3) Spread out the money across crowd source investing in $25K increments  (e.g. crowdstreet, realtyshare)4) Invest in alternative investments like life settlements, bridge loans/peer to peer etc. also in $25K increments5) WAIT. 

As the market is so fluid and pacing rapidly month after month, do you see any new trends wrt areas that you listed.

***      - 6% max houses can be rented - More houses for sale in Wimauma and cheaper; seems to be more demand in Wesley Chapel         - Houses in both communities/towns are disappearing fast        - Wesley Chapel seems to have started expanding before Wimauma - Higher income and higher home values in Wesley Chapel; Wimauma community seems closer to low-income old Wimauma community to the east - Wesley Chapel area more developed, larger; both rapidly expanding- DR Horton Google reviews: 4.5/5 at Wimauma, 4.3/5 at Wesley Chapel            - Spoke to middle-aged Wimauma resident - happy overall, small problem with blinds that was fixed           - Agents at both developments seem helpful and friendly- Much better school district + nearby charter school in Wesley Chapel, but Wimauma property seems to be better in most other categories Wesley Chapel is better for families seeking good schools; Wimauma serves more commuters since it is located between many more cities/businesses.