I was chatting with my mom a few weeks ago about an area for potential growth where homes are currently under the $50k mark — a.k.a., an area that's ripe for a newcomer like me to invest. 

It has negative job growth over the past 12 months, and well as low median income, and high crime.http://www.city-data.com/city/Memphis-Tennessee.htmlhttps://www.deptofnumbers.com/employment/metros/Lastly, when building a portfolio of that many residential properties, probably the first hurdle you will encounter is lending.

@Latasha Griffin We use Avail.co for most of our online property mgt tasks.

Demand in the market can be influenced by job growth & net migration, industry breakdown of the market, new product coming online, landlord/tenant laws, and many other factors.Location - is it in a good or bad part of town?

Awesome growth strategy @Jason Castro. 

I would take a look at the best markets in the US using some known strategies on growth.

Hi Skyler, 2020-21 was a lot of growth in Lansing.

You always have access to your CONTRIBUTIONS (not earnings/growth) tax and penalty free.  

If you're not expecting this to appreciate (like if that university is decreasing in size or stagnant in its growth) I think this could still be a good deal, I would be willing to bet that you may be able to find something with for a lower ask that may need some love to get it back in shape.

Does it benefit you to find a "compatible" Realtor to handle the sometimes time consuming tasks to get a transaction done, or you spend time doing it yourself with your own license?