Your first few deals are you building confidence in yourself and your abilities!

I understand that in terms of getting more affordable deals but it also restricts your ability to travel to your own investment?

The great thing I see in the numbers was the ability to turn $235K into $340K.

The overall strategy will also be dependent on how much cash you have on hand, your income & ability to qualify for loans, single or married w/ kids, like your job or not & level of desire in quitting your job.

Obviously I have the ability to use the BiggerPockets Forum but I was wondering if there were other techniques that I could possibly use.

If you stay watching long enough you’ll notice someone winning consistently because they have the ability to keep their eyes on nothing but the cup with the ball (no easy feat).

Many of the things to consider will revolve around your ability to get loans for this and the next homes. 

Paying retail is going to significantly limit your ability to grow.One other area I'd tell you to strongly consider - hurricane ian areas in florida.

It usually doesn't need as many coats to finish the project and the quality of paint serves you much better in terms of mitigating smell, wear and tear over time, wash-ability etc.

Also just request the ability to get in for showings, etc in exchange for breaking the lease.