In areas like Frisco, Plano, or Arlington, proximity to major employers and universities like TCU or SMU can make a big difference.Stay Curious and PersistentReal estate investing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Real estate's "gross rent multiplier" is Wall Street's "sales to revenue",  "cap rate" is roughly "P/E ratio".When evaluating markets and investments I tend to start with GRM (or lazily the 1% rule), then attempt to return a cap rate based on assumptions about costs, then I work my way to multiple years of projections (assumptions about inflation, amortization, tax benefits, etc), and if I am partnering with one of my smart friends I have to pull up an IRR (internal rate of return).I also look at regional employment levels, median income to rent ratio in the zip code etc. 

I would also look at employment/unemployment statistics, and get a good sense of who the biggest employers are in an area. 

The big pros are the strong job market (lots of major employers), good population growth, and still-reasonable entry prices.

The higher credit, higher income, gainfully employed S8 tenants are choosy about where they live and do not want to live in a bad, high crime area.By buying in an area that appeals to high quality S8 tenants, the arbitrage that you might see between S8 being higher than market might disappear.So that being said, it’s more important to lead by location than strategy.Happy to talk further if you like.  

Be mindful of short-term capital gains tax, as profits from flips held for less than a year are taxed as ordinary income, and frequent flipping may result in self-employment taxes.While profits from flips do not qualify for 1031 exchanges (since flips are considered inventory, not investment properties), you can minimize your tax burden by deducting allowable expenses like renovation costs, loan interest, and holding expenses.If you're considering diversifying into rentals, explore opportunities to benefit from long-term tax advantages such as depreciation and lower long-term capital gains rates.

But I’d be amiss if I did not suggest that instead you gain knowledge of the aforementioned 3 foundation by studying for a real estate agent/broker license, and then seek employment with REITs, real estate operating companies, real estate managers, or real estate brokers.  

Thus, I have worked 2 jobs (1  is self employment) for 7 years to fund purchasing a few single family homes locally. 20k is not enough to purchase IMO, that should be your savings AFTER your purchase.

From what I’ve read in Bloomberg, electing S-Corp taxation for your LLC might reduce your self-employment tax burden when you start paying yourself a salary.

Folks very often dont  realize the cost of being self employed when every facet of your life comes out of your pocket.