But you have to see yourself as a boxer/UFC fighter looking to get a TKO over your opponent, as opposed to thinking that doing short sales is about finding correct comps.

Personally, I'd keep my day job and work on the flip strategy as opposed to wholesaling.  

@Luke TomashekAre you talking about using an I/A system as opposed to traditional design system?

You will be looking at recognizing the increase now as opposed to later.

Those turnovers could give opportunity to do minor improvements and rent proofing (tile flooring as opposed to carpet if that's a concern) that could also raise your rent/desirability.

I obviously will still be paying taxes on the rent as income just like any other property, but will have foregone any capital gains taxes on the earnings of the 529 investments as opposed to if it had been in a taxable account.  

If you have a bit of money to start with I suggest you use that to get a good mentor as opposed to blindly buying your first property.

Rather than use that toward a down payment, I plan to use some cash I have saved to purchase a similarly valued unit (around $100k) in cash, that way I will only have one payment, as opposed to two.

I would recommend trying to meet and work with some experienced real estate investors, either by going to local Real estate investing networking events in your area, or by continuing to build relationships on BP.Working with experienced investors helps with a number of things:- You can learn from their past mistakes, opposed to making your own and learning from them the hard way- They will have relationships already built which will give you more leverage to get your deals done.

Especially since it is a patio home as opposed to a true townhome.