With the upcoming expected rate cuts making real estate "more affordable", I believe this will unlock many buyer's who've been waiting on the sidelines.

My straight forward thinking is, when water is turned on (slowly) I’ll pressurize all plumbing then open and clear out faucets, etc.

At a 500-700k budget, I'd look at a 2-4 unit property in places like East Nashville, Colorado Springs, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, VA, maybe Salt Lake City (though that budget might not cut it there).

Who cuts the grass? 

Let the wholesaler spend the money finding the motivated buyer then swoop in and cut them out..

If you get a little further out from LSU, you can probably buy in the mid $200k range and cut $200-$300/month out of that.

Do that for a year or two and then help that owner buy another and you take a cut in the deal maybe in exchange for management. 

I’ve had the house for 6 month and I feel like there’s so much deferred maintenance that I can’t keep up, should I cut my losses and sell the house?

If the borrower lies about that to get an investment property loan by claiming it's for a primary residence when it's not, then that's straight up mortgage fraud, which is a felony punishable by a fine up to $1m and 30 years in prison.

For the 10 year period spanning October 2014-2024, single-family prices in Austin nearly doubled, yielding an annualized appreciation rate of ~9% in that period.With inflation nearing its 2% target and signs of a slowing labor market, The Federal Reserve recently made its second cut to the federal funds rate since the start of the COVID pandemic.