I stopped buying because the market became too expensive and competitive in my area at the time. 

If you don’t have a strong marketing system, it’s a grind.

You’ve already got a solid foundation—understanding market trends, deal structuring, and negotiations will give you a great head start.I would recommend focusing on learning one niche at a time.

I suspect maybe something like Hagerstown or Cumberland, which yeah are Class D like markets with declining populations, high drug problems, no strong job base which leads to non paying tenants.

Quote from @Kishan Purohit: @Heath D WallaceTo get this deal to cash flow, you could look into increasing the rent if the market allows or reducing operating expenses, such as lowering management fees, vacancy rates, or insurance costs.

Cleveland would be a great market for you.

You can arguably make it work in any market.

Quote from @Michael Ewers: Hey y'all, Wondering what is the best marketing strategy for obtaining off market leads?

You need the backup option in case the mid-term rental market changes.Minimizing turn costs and downtime is critical.

With rates where they are, I'd expect you don't plan to be in the mortgage for more than 3–5 years (maybe less) depending on where the bond market goes.