But truthfully in a hot market rents don't align with price.

@Jessica Harriet, the Portland, ME real estate market is very hot right now and a rent stabilization effort is on the ballot in November.

I've recently been divorced, and even though I have my kids 5 out of 14 days, my maintenance and child support are going to be through the roof since I was the major breadwinner in our household and have 4 kids.

Doing so can provide you a small advantage that can help you get a deal in a hot mkt.I researched mkt rents by talking to multiple property mgrs, area locals and skimming sites like Zillow and Trulia.

The house already has central heat and air, but it is in Arkansas and summers are hot here.

Florida is hot and humid, and it can happen to smaller diameter pipes sometimes over decades. 

The great thing about these investments is they're almost recession-proof.Of course, if you're looking for more standard "hot real estate markets," this article has a good list:https://www.forbes.com/sites/trulia/2017/01/04/10-hottest-real-estate-markets-to-watch-in-2017/#2d58408e340c

We are in a red hot market in the Southeast.  

Given the hotness of my local market and the trust I've built with them, I could probably raise 100k-200k of private money with minimal effort.

I have a 50' wide x 150' deep undeveloped lot in East Lake Atlanta (very hot area) on Salmon Ave.