@Mark White I say find a city that you can afford and build a team there.

We are working on outsourcing a leasing team for the smaller properties that can't afford full-time staff.

Looking into apps they look to be very affordable.

One day its the fridge, next AC, next bathroom fixtures, unless they are paying top dollars and you can afford to upgrade their life, its better not to fix it unless it is a safety issue or broken (and sometimes tenets purposely break it because they want a new one). 

This is for my moms house and she is a non-believer of being able to afford rehabbing her home because she is not asking the right question of "how" can she afford it vs just saying she can't. 

@Benjamin SussmanFor real estate, it is when your exposure is so high that if a few renters stop paying you can’t afford to cover your expenses.Example:Let’s say you have W2 income of 5k / month (net)Your expenses are 4K a month so you have our 1k left in your pocket every month.

But they are strict due to the lack of affordable housing here. 

Sure, within the next 12-24 months there may be some great deals coming on the market at owners who purchased a bit too thin on the cashflow find themselves crunched and suddenly motivated to sell, but that's kind of irrelevant when you're looking to buy a primary residence which is a decision most people make more for the emotional/stability reasons than for the cold-hard investor reasons.Main question to ask is can you afford what you want.

It was affordable, in a great location, and small enough to improve/furnish on a budget.

After several deals I could afford to do a contract for deed with him to live in one of my properties, I pay that living expense in exchange for labor every month (rehabs on properties and maintenance on existing properties).