I have a wide range for how much rental grade rehabs cost.

I am looking at assets in select Eastern PA markets (Allentown, Upper Darby, Reading).

I like the idea of unincorporated areas and did so with my first STR, but county wide regulations can wipe that strategy right off the board. 

Enforcement of things like that vary widely in different parts of the country, I believe.

That will give you (slightly) more flexibility if something goes wrong with tenant selection.

@Logan LumWholesaling is widely viewed as a legal activity because wholesalers are not actually selling a property in and of itself — but rather are selling the ownership of the real estate contract associated with the property.In general, those who argue that wholesale real estate investors are doing business illegally feel this way because they do not have a real estate license.

Look at Zillow (select rent) (select houses or apts) and see what others are charging. 

The cash-on-cash return and appreciation are steady.You should select a market that will meet your investment goals.A local Investor-Agent can help shorten your learning curve and save you a lot of headaches as they tend to understand the market better.All the best!

We've worked very very hard and now we have a 3-bedroom 2-bath single family home on a canal in Fort Lauderdale (Lauderdale Isles) with 65-feet of new dock on the 60-foot wide canal frontage--there are no fixed bridges from here to the Pacific Ocean, a 5-mile trip along the New River.We owe $326K on our 4.25% FHA mortgage, just now added $70K in high-interest debt to pay for the renovations, and when complete we estimate the property will sell for $900-950K; similar homes with pools (we do not have a pool) are selling for over a million.

If the co-op board is unresponsive or extremely selective, prospective buyers and buyer's agents will prioritize units in other co-op developmentsVery few co-ops are investor friendly.