What REI style do you want to kick *** at?

Purchasing a personal home is a life style choice not a investment.

I just don't think they provide enough value over the flat pricing model softwares to justify their expense. 

The downsides to college rentals are that they are generally going to turn over each year so you will have to build some vacancy costs in to your financial models (though you can fairly accurately predict this number because of #2 above).

I will tell you thought that everyone has their own style to flipping a house so you will need to find what works for you.Consistency and patience are the number one skills required for this business.

@Rich Hupper if you are looking to own/operate a business then buying palates of returned items from Amazon, Home Depot, etc then breaking them down and selling off the contents in a deep discount retail model could be a good use of the space.

I realize there are proprietary models for property valuation.

4) Any recommendations with regards to brands/models of appliances (fridge, oven, washer/dryer, etc.) that are the most durable and cost efficient?

But rarely is the best checking/savings style bank the best mortgage lender.  

In 2015 I set up a STR company in NYC using the arbitrage model, which my daughter ran.