Keep grinding! 

In the long term, I wish to escape the 9-5 engineering grind by breaking into the larger multi-family market and pursuing a full-time real estate investing career.I look forward to collaborating with and learning from each of you.

Its also why the folks like us and other investors do so well, because we were willing to put in the work and grind out the tough years to be in a position to enjoy the results later.You didn't mention this, but if you're thinking about wholesaling part time don't even bother.

Grind it out and get your savings in order.

Noise?

There is a high degree of NOISE that prevents your message from being heard/consumed.2 - You are not the only RE investor sending them direct mail (especially if you are sending to the same lists as everyone else - e.g., absentee owners).The #1 rookie mistake we see is investors that do 1 or 2 direct mail drops to a list, get low response, and bail out.

Looks like a good deal but I wonder if the price is due in part to the traffic noise?  

Many cities and municipalities have implemented restrictions or regulations on short-term rentals to address concerns such as noise, safety, and neighborhood disruption.

There is lots of knowledge out there and lots of good education to invest in, however there is a lot of noise out there too and it takes a lot of work to block it out.

In general carpet is out but if you need to have it due to noise get an updated look.