My initial plan was to do a house hack in whatever market I find appealing.

Cold calling is only one marketing method.  

low cashflow high appreciationNotes purchased in the secondary market at discount to remaining principal balance have the built in capital gain profit with potential for greater ROI thru early payoff or early PARTIAL paydown.  

I was watching the market for quite some time.

If it helps any, I have the VA loan as a benefit as well.

I am working on rehabbing some smaller cottages in northern Michigan, the plan is to put them all on the STR market once they are complete. 

August 2024 payroll numbers continue to show a resilient job market, despite revisions expected to push the data higher, following a trend seen in previous years.

If I had to estimate I would say the winning bids we're maybe about 10% less than the market value of the homes, but that's just an estimate.  

FYI for all real estate questions regarding the Columbus market I recommend @jimmylieu - he is the BEST! 

We are building wonderful houses for great clients that, in this market, soon have fantastic value over the cost to build.