Once you have this team in place, you should be able to invest in any market confidently.As for picking a specific market - I would go after one with an increasing job and population growth.

If you have any specific questions or need guidance along the way, feel free to reach out.

Do you have an alternative deal structure that might work better here?

Once you feel comfortable that you know where to want to invest and you have the funds for a down payment, all you need to do is get preapproved and start working with a realtor to identify a specific property.

If I were in your shoes, I would do the following:- set 6 months worth of income aside in a HYSA to save it for a rainy day (this will help shield you if you lose your job, or if something goes horribly awry with your investment properties)- open a Bank on Yourself life insurance policy (this is a specific type of high dividend paying whole life insurance where you can borrow against the cash value in your policy at any time and the money will continue growing as if you never took out a loan.

What specifically are the PMCs charging for that is restricting your cashflow?

One would need to connect with a realtor, lender, there's inspections, there's needing a specific amount of capital to invest, tenants, property management, etc. 

Pergo Outlast+ is the middle one of 3 quality levels and is specifically rated for bathrooms and kitchens and advertised as waterproof.

Tucson Section 8 is valuing my two- and three-bedroom units in a duplex well below market rental rates because they said they don't have data supporting higher rents specific to duplexes (they won't compare to SFHs or Apartments).   

In my experience, homes with window units only require a specific buyer versus having an HVAC which most buyers tend to prefer.