As someone who is new to the real estate industry I am very interested in linking up with more experienced investors to learn more about the industry.  

There is this thing called "overlays" in the mortgage industry. 

@Jack Macioce - My lender uses the average of the most recent 2 years tax returns to calculate DSCR

We average approx 16 days above 100 degrees. 

Next you go buy a multi-family in one of the areas you mentioned (Assuming average $200K/unit and 4 units, which seems on the light side, $800K purchase price, $160K downpayment) which would leave you with $160K in cash. - The problem I see here is that I highly doubt you would receive cash flow in this scenario.  

. $500 summer lease-this is around average rent for off campus house with Utilites includedExpensestaxs- $1,700insurance- $2050gas- $1,900Electric- $1,200Water/Sewer- $2,000Yearly maintance- $1,000total= $9,850NOI based on Semester Rents Without Summer leases and late fees $26,000($16,150)Purchasing Home with Primary Home Equity. 

You'll start to learn the shorthand of ARV, CoC, ROI, cap-rate, etc. pretty quickly.I think most of the language around "where to buy" is a lot easier to understand:  job growth, population growth, average household income, unemployment, school district quality, crime heatmaps, blah...blah...blah...  

I'm new to to real estate investment industry, how do I get my first deal under contract ?

As a new comer to the industry I find myself facing challenges that of course I didn't expect like what type of property to flip first or should I start with wholesaling first etc.

Things to maybe look for I've learned could be:  household income, median home price, job growth, industries, school/education ranking, percentage of renters in area, unemployment rates etc.