It is basically preparing yourself for success and putting yourself on that path.

- Are there areas that would work well as a mid-term or short-term rental in addition to long-term?

The S.O.T.A program works well, and is a good option to get a tough to rent vacancy filled if you invest in a low income area.The process of getting the deal done with them is pretty simple but pack your patience though if you get a bad case worker, you'll need it.

Obviously mounted up high in a readily visible spot "trail cams" work just as well (as a possible visual deterrent), very cheap online. 

We are in Pascagoula, about 30ish minutes east of Biloxi, so we have been looking around in that area as well.   

Once you clear the 2-yr mark of living there yourselves, you can likely use the full $500k.Disclaimer: I said likely, because there could be a mountain of complications, as well as some different opinions from my peers.

Louisiana is changing their tax sale laws now as well, killing my tax sale business that has done very very well over the last 15 years.

For the 10 year period spanning May 2014 through May 2024, single-family prices in Austin nearly doubled, yielding an annualized appreciation rate of ~9.2% in that period.A 30-year fixed rate mortgage is sitting around 7% interest, which is down a bit from recent months, but still well above where we began 2024:The Fed monetary policy and rate decisions remain the biggest single driver of the residential real estate market overall.

I also do property management for work, so I can definitely help you out as well if you are needing it fully leased.  

Nobody’s going to pay $850k cash for a chance to earn $50k (if they run it as well as you.)