@Lydia T.

I am not sure how people are suddenly affording to pay so much more rent.

Most tenants can't afford this in one giant lump sum payment so I bill them quarterly based on water consumption.

If you can't then you'll need to figure out how much you can afford to put into a fixer upper.

Greenville is a great market to invest as houses can be found that are affordable and rent very well for cash flow.  

Public service announcement:Title has one 'T' :-)In Georgia, you don't have to have your spouse on a title with you.

I say this because most likely starting out at a young age you’re going to be looking to enter the market at an affordable price point.

All the real estate trends I have been reading about the past couple months discuss low inventory for affordable housing as one of the primary drivers that is slowing the national markets down.

You have to find that tenant who can afford to buy a relatively nice house that still wants to rent.I generally have to stalk Craigslist whenever I post for that reason. 

You will, iin general,  potentially get higher returns the more risk you take.I also made the decision to invest in a higher class of property as I am just not ok with profiting off the poor (yes, i know they need houses to live in and there are folks that provide safe affordable housing) It is ok to invest in any class of property you want.