In the meantime though, I'd try to just actively build your platform here on Bigger Pockets and just casually connect with people. 

I always check active rentals to see what the competition is currently looking like for if a rental were to go live that month too.

If these groups are significant, it suggests there’s pent-up demand that could enter the market when one of two things happen:Rates Drop - Rates fall to levels that allow more buyers to qualify for the homes they want.Buyer Expectations Shift - Buyers realize that 5% rates aren’t coming back soon and decide to move forward.Based on the increase in activity I saw in Sept and Oct in my business, when rates hit low 6s, I'd say my market has plenty of pent-up demand. 

We hold a license and face criminal penalties . 

So this is a new one for me... Listing price is at 130k and agent mentioned that the seller has wiggle room to drop the price. However, there is a mortgage on it with about 80k left, is it even worth trying to still g...

Good Cause Eviction, the 2019 TPA, the history of moratoriums, and the clean slate act sealing criminal records and other offenses. 

It will be money well spent.Also, criminals know how to check which properties in the area are STRs and might be vacant during most of the winter.  

When it comes to turnkey investments you are paying for convenience essentially you are approaching it like a stock or paper asset when it is very much not... meaning that at some point it needs to be actively managed and evaluated and etc., etc., etc. for example finding cash flowing investment properties which meet your ROI goal of 9% is NOT HARD heck almost every state (and likely every state) has a market which will achieve that but what does 9% mean without a dollar value if 9% is = to $200 or more okay that’s okay but if 9% means $25/mo. or alternatively if 50% ROI means $25/mo. doesn’t really matter much since although labor differs from area to area it doesn’t differ that much and also doesn’t really leave much room for error — so your minimum accepted ROI should also be couple within a minimum accepted $$ value (cash flow) and other minimums as well (i.e. min. equity, property types, property classes, etc.)Lastly as I mentioned achieving a 9% ROI is not hard and is achievable in every state; the HARDER part is to 1) achieve that AND 2) achieve 10-20% min.equity on the buy in or ARV AND 3) meeting your min. $ value AND 4) buying in a good/stable neighborhood/market AND 5) buying with some type of upside AND 6) etc. etc. etc. —- Again I’m not saying you have to do these things; it all depends what type of investor you are and what you are looking for however it is important to understand that if you shift the responsibility of either identifying the invest property or managing or any other aspect there WILL be a trade off — in this case the turnkey company has delivered on your goal of 8-9% ROI (projected... so TBC) and in return you have traded some of the other benefits of investing in RE for the convenience of not having to do much more than to look over the properties they have sent you and funding it from the comfort of your home, office, etc. ... again if this is the goal then you are on point but if the goal is to also partake in ALL of the other benefits of RE then you should understand that and not be surprised that it’s not a ‘stellar’ investment that checks all the boxes.

While it is true that the time of year can influence market activity, as others have mentioned, there is usually a trade-off depending on the season.

These expenses can create a paper loss, which may offset other passive income or carry forward to future years.If you qualify for Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) or actively manage a Short-Term Rental (STR), the losses can be applied against your active W-2 or business income, reducing your overall tax liability.