The experience of the housing provider is going to be the real challenge to getting you a set of keys to move in with...they have to qualify, pass inspection, sign a bunch of paperwork, and finally lease up and send everything into LMH. 

Any budgeting tips would be super helpful!

I'm in the Atlanta area also.

Unfortunately, North Jersey is probably one of the hardest BRRRR markets in the country right now because of extremely low inventory, high demand, and pushed up prices because single-family home buyers are buying the properties that we all used to buy to fix up because they are desperate.You can BRRRR, carefully, into many parts of Pennsylvania though but remember that interest rates right now make it very hard to BRRRR.

REI is a great thing to start to learn about so you are pursuing something with great long-term value, but you have to know that it's not a quick road to get out of the rat race.What financially free means to you could mean something different to someone else so usually what people are seeking is time freedom.

"Could this be a time to pickup a decent property for a bit of a steal there (at least relative to how crazy high the market has been recently)"Yes exactly

Love that you are coming to the market to interface here, nothing can substitute it in my mind.  

The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon.

With the ever changing market, I'm looking to learn about how everyone else is finding solutions to the challenges we are facing. 

@Nicholas DillonRentometer can give you a rangeZillow also can give a rangeThe best source would be to call a loc a property manager or realtor and have them also give you a range as at end of day they will have most recent and updated numbers and have a better feel for where the market is at