I think most people will echo your post @Lisa Tennyson! 

I mean everything I've seen or talked to we're doing at minimum in the $400-$600k ish range, but maybe I am talking to the wrong people.

you can challenge the value with an accountant, appraiser, etc most markets have a person who charges a flat fee to lower it. in Columbus Ohio most of the people that do this have a guarantee to lower it or it's like half the fee 

In Lake Tahoe having more beds is better sometimes because the average daily rate is higher so more people generally want to split the cost.

We are brand new to real estate investing and would love to connect with people in Florida, Georgia and South/North Carolina.

Depending on what the program offers, they could partner on deals with you, you could leverage their credibility, they can help you get financing on loans you would not be able to qualify for alone, and if the group has a network of people that collaborate you get access to awesome people all working towards similar goals.

None of this is true in todays market though, you pay more per month to buy than rent anywhere in our area & frankly the country at this point, so it takes time for both having bought to be worth it and to move out and make cash flow, there are very few if any properties that are “value add anymore” I’d know because I look At 17 counties daily for deals & if there’s one I’d have bought one, heloc’s are bad debt ar this point, usually double digit debt, again all of these issues are solved with those but if your gonna live somewhere for a year or two he would probably rent and no amount of realtor ******** changes that, this market is different than a low interest rate environment and people owe thier clients at least to properly explain that to them.

In my definition of a "good tenant", they are people who work hard to have choices in life.

A lot of people are buying houses sub to where ownership of the property transfers to the buyer but the existing loan stays in the sellers name and the buyer just takes over payments. 

As others have commented - DSCR Loans tend to be a great solution for people in your exact scenario - fed up and tired of giant hassle and paperwork for conventional or bank financing - not worth the often pretty small benefit in rate or terms.Check out this article I published last year on BiggerPockets on what to expect documentation wise for DSCR Loans - they have become a nice blend between solid underwriting and doc sets needed, but not too much (and not too little like notorious "no doc" loans)https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/what-documents-do-you-nee...