A lot of my out of state real estate clients really like this market because the macroeconomics look so good for this market - population is growing, job growth is growing, and so many companies moving and developing here.

Stocks don't give you this.The tax code's most beneficial deductions are geared for taxpayers who create jobs (owning a business) or who house others (rental properties).

I have a W-2 Job, capital saved up for a down payment (or two), and a buy box based on my affordability.

Nice try, but this time does not count.In order to meet 750 hours, your wife will need one of the below:- do something else real estate related, like wholesaling or realtor- actively work on expanding your rental portfolio - have an extensive DIY rehab, like a month-long full-time rehab (and then she might need another kind of rehab)- a calamity such as multiple properties damaged in a storm where she will have to deal with insurers and contractors- something else out of the ordinaryAgain - if all you have is 9 single-family properties with stable tenants and typical occasional maintenance - you don't have enough work to collect 750 hours.

There's so many catalysts for population and job growth (Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide Hospital, etc).

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

my hope is to get a nice unit for my son at below 50% of retail.  

I just lost my job a few days ago, the reason for picking any state nothing tying me down to this area.

I agree that DealCheck (or the BP calculator) does not provide enough tools or functionality to analyze those types of transactions (yet).But I would argue that it does a great job at analyzing more traditional buy & hold SFRs and multi-families, as well as flips and rehab projects. 

Being able to look one of these sellers in the eye and tell them that you can, as a licensed agent, either list their property or attempt to assign the contract, assuming wholesaling is legal in your state, is a huge credibility booster.2) Get an entry-level job, hustle, save as much as possible and plan to house-hack when you turn 18-21.