That being said, the people seemed hard working and friendly and I personally have no issues working with people of this mentality or the challenges that come with it.

@Matt Hiltner unless your current day job is in some sort of sales, you will likely find the broker route pretty challenging.

I agree that a 2-1 is not hugely popular, but for a young newly married couple on the Westside of Northern VA, it would definitely be a viable option, assuming we "modernized" the home a bit.

Stocks and bonds, medical equipment, food and grocery, pretty much any retail item, cars, clothes, real estate... they all have their middlemen.Investing in real estate, especially wholesaling, has become wildly popular within the last 5 years.

I am sure you have come across it, but house hacking is pretty popular on BP and a small multi (2-4 units) is perfect for an owner occupant.

That is a very popular strategy here.

Oceanside is a popular area for many in the military due to proximity to the base which I'm sure is why you selected that area.  

They would all be advertising in the same magazine (we all know the three popular ones) and selling to the same folks who we all talk with (West Coast, Northern USA investors and or international investors).

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of the Crowd " by Charles MackayZIG WHEN EVERYONE  ZAGS. 

If you decide you need the control board, and it's real expensive to get an original part from Samsung, some distributors stock or can get rebuilt control boards for the more popular appliances, which can save you some money.