But also, theres a great opportunity to test yourself and grow in ways safe investments dont necessarily bring to the table.

@Catherine MorelShe doesn’t sound like a motivated seller, she’s just testing the water.If you have comps send it to her and if she asks you how much you are willing to pay be prepare to have a price in mind.Congrats on your first response, you will have more opportunities..When possible try to find the reason for selling that will help you negotiate.

After googling for many hours I have narrowed down my "where to invest" to the following cities:IndianapolisJacksonvilleTampaOrlandoDes MoinesPhilly Chicago (outside chance)Fort collins (very slim chance)I'm looking to try to get the BRRRR ball rolling in one of these areas with my initial "all in" cash on the first investment at roughly ~70-135k. 

If you test I have to disclose and I have no idea who your tester is.

I'm a new agent (just passed my test!)

.- To gain an understanding of the demand for your product in the area, run test ads for home rentals and lot rentals at your proforma rental rates.  

We run test ads on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, et al., to test the demand of the market.  

I don’t believe there is but double check on qualifying as a real estate professional with your CPA as it’s really tough to qualify with W2 income, you need to meet the following that eliminates most taxpayers with W2 incometwo quantitative tests of Sec. 469(c)(7)(B):Do the hours represent more than one-half of the total personal service hours the taxpayer performed during the year in all trades or businesses?

(This has been a legit budgeting test for me these past few months but it's fun … lol.) 

As Rachelle suggested, take your time.Test Hires:  This is moreso for vendors than PM's or realtors, but feel free to test out different vendors.