Do you want a company that will keep the long-range investment objectives in mind or one that focuses on today and today's profit alone?     

I don’t mind SMF investing.

I would stay long enough for the 2 years so you quaify nothing is going to happen in the next year or so.. that tax free money is the best thing we have going in the US in my mind. then U could buy some very safe first trust deeds and make 4 to 6K a month NET NET NET without any of the TTTs..

My personally favorite spot so far is Ko Olina but I'm open minded.

Keep in mind not all HAs work the same.

That will be a determining factor for where it makes sense for you to purchase.Regarding waiting - bear in mind a lot of people were predicting rates in 2024 would be in 5% range or low 6s, which didn't turn out to be the case.

I was going to do this, but I changed my mind after talking with my target demographic (my kids).

Zillow has a lot of valuable information, but keep in mind that it's algorythms don't work in every market. 

But keep in mind if your using money you cant afford to get back then buying action property might not be appropriate for your current endeavors and its better to just buy open market were you can do proper due diligence and know you have a build-able site.

Owner occ developments there is no value associated to the income approach so these props generally speaking will appreciate a lot more as the neighborhoods are much more desirable. builders the last thing they want to do is sell to investors if they are creating owner occupied communities.. rentals degrade the neighborhood and they will be sabotaging their own values to allow a bunch of investors to buy and rent out in their communities.So when you buy new builds keep in mind if its a build to rent community they will NOT appreciate like owner occupied neighborhoods.. might be best to find something already 3 to 5 years old where the stigma of renters dies down.. that would be best to protect your investment.