My investment property is a 4-unit in Michigan that was appraised at $69,000 which was much lower than I had expected, but that’s actually not the problem.  

This will rent lower than others in the area. 

House hacking may be a great way to start.  1-4 unit place.. live in 1 unit.. rent the others... pay a lower downpayment so you have cash reserves to strike on property # 2 I am in your area often on the weekends.. be open to a coffee and convo.Welcome to BPJim 

I used a VA loan to finance it, I'm now looking into using a FHA loan due to lower money down and the ability make repair on a home.

We’re thinking maybe we could buy a property, maybe a townhouse, on the lower end so our mortgage isn’t too high, but it won’t cash flow for sure.

Or buy a lower price property that needs some love that has 4 units that would rent out for around $800-900 each.

The home was not in a multiple offer situation and we negotiated for a lower price.

I have saved up $100k over a Lot of years of saving a little bit at a time from an exceedingly stressful job in a field that I would like to be out of before to long.

My experience is that most real estate investors who thought they had a foolproof asset protection plan experience a high amount of stress and anger once they learn of the cost and energy it will take to defend it in court and the amount of private information that will need to be turned over to the creditor in the discovery process.

This can increase your learning curve, cut down or stress and errors.