Am interested in finding opportunities in these regions but from a far it looks substantially more competitive than what I am used to.

Prices in Austin are pretty high, and the market is pretty hot so I thought I would start close to my hometown in Florida, which is appreciating but less competitive. 

Paul, One year ago, My wife and I bought a home and did a very heavy rehab on it and placed a VA loan on the property.

In my area, rentals are hard to come by so competition to get them is very hard.

No negotiations as this was a heavy seller's market.

@Nicholas Mann pretty much @Abel Curiel has it covered here... your other option here is to throw two realities at them... one in which they get a comfy number, but on terms you like, so maybe $580k, but they do a seller carryback for a monthly rate of significantly less than your current financing options are giving you so that you cashflow heavy immediately, or $480k on traditional finance.

With SS becoming more popular it just naturally becomes more competitive driving cap rates down and values up.

When I started I house hacked then did BRRRR deals and owner finances because they allowed me to have little to no money in the deal (and in some instances get paid at closing) so I could continue to buy more rentals.It's all about finding the right deal that fits your goals and competitive advantages.How are you finding deals?

You'll find you have slightly less competition in FV than the hot spots in Wisconsin right now.

Reasons are lack of knowledge, lack of expertise and experience, under capitalized, too much competition, don’t like the work required, lack of time, frustration, inability to stand large amount of frustration, legal requirements not being met, disappointing results.