National data can be useful for informational purposes (price, rent, inflation, days on market, etc.), but your local market can be drastically different.

I would check out Hotpads and sort by rooms for rent, this will give you a accurate view of what students are paying for rooms as opposed to Rentometer which pulls completely different data.

While we could probably afford this, I'd like to explore leveraging private money to fund a down payment in addition to our own funds.Where can I get more information about taking private money - be it from a friend, family member, etc. - and using this in conjunction with our own money for an owner-occupied MFH? 

So I have recently been exploring the area of Gatlinburg and surrounding towns for a str cabin.

If the home is vacant then no problem, we are in a position to explore if the home warranty will offer coverage to something broken in the house. 

Hello QuentinWelcome to BiggerpocketsDuring downtimes you can read and listen to audio on real estate investing.You can also explore the relations to constantly look at deals to get up to speedOther activities you can carry out include: Make calls,follow up,ask for referrals, view houses,write offers

@Joe Norman Hi, thank you for sharing the factual data here.

After transitioning I was picked up by various fortune 100 companies to build and maintain their data centers. 

@Zane Zeman, thanks for that data point. 

@Jameson SchwabThat's a great data point regarding the level of interest.