I would consider comparing that amount ($18,375) with what you could accomplish in the Denver area with a house hack as your first deal.

Has anyone ever done this and could they give advise on how to best accomplish this?

Accomplished the goal and we turned a profit.

Keep in mind to have a good relationship with your broker and that he understands what you are trying to accomplished with multi-offers at once.  

Definitely not trying to discourage you from this path rather it may be a challenge to find what you are looking for that will also accomplish your full goals.  

And the final solution is "trust a household name," but that's accomplished primarily by usurious interest rate pricing to pay for the giant marketing budget to become a household name to begin with, so that solution sucks too.It's quite the conundrum for the consumer. 

What Melissa shared is one option but it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Some investors see brokers/agents as doormats to accomplish their goals.

This will help you to stay focused on what you are trying to accomplish in REI (know your criteria, goals, your WHY). 

Not only will you make sure you are saving for something that can be accomplished you can also spend that time getting to know your target market