While my cash flow isn't amazing today, I'm investing in areas I think will experience appreciation and rent growth, and if rates do ever come down I'll refinance and be doing great. 

Find and join a local REI or land lord Association and attend meetings to get local perspectives on markets, LL/tenant laws and experiences etc.Hang out here and search threads that may be relevant to you and your desires/needs.Decide on your objectives from investing, taking into account your resources from financial and time perspectives.

I can barely get firms to look at columbus with 10x years of experience thats mostly for ground up. the average house cost is still less than 100k which means you have a lot of houses to tear down still to create a housing shortage. the economics don't make it favorable for any type of investing but turn key or maybe ground up in the urban core which works in any city. but compare any of these cities, I'll take Indianapolis, Chicago, Minneapolis, and columbus and Milwaukee and pass on the rest. 

Probably need more information, especially regarding type of real estate investment because its going to definitely differ dramatically, some thoughts:-If its for a rehab "Fix and flip" - definitely more about value, experience, timeline-You are mentioning more about rental property metrics - if so, is this SFR or small residential or commercial? 

If you have experience with wholesaling, please let me know what I'm missing and need to add.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

If it is on fix and flip you are looking at 10-25% down depending on your experience and ARV. 

Some may be set up to handle a more "hands off" landlord and some are set up for a more hands on experience.

If Anyone has had experience wholesaling a deal using this method.

Does anyone have experience getting home inspections done with properties for sale via auction?