I highly recommend you start going to meetups.  

Ask yourself: Do you know ANY highly successful real estate investors or sales pros who sleep in, waste time, and still crush it? 

Idk it could be me but nothing appraises high there.

Once you go above $125k/unit you start to get into the high end areas that won't have very good rent/price ratios and are under the 1% rule mark for turnkey stuff.Neighborhood wise in the city the "East End" is where the most expensive real estate is since that's where the universities and a lot of the hospitals are located.

I was able to fund a brrrr deal using 0% interest rate business credit cards ($95k across different cards), I didn't have to deal with lenders and their high interest rates or their draw request process to access renovation funds.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

For example, should we focus on acquiring one high-quality property in a strong market, or would it make more sense to spread the investment across multiple lower-cost units in emerging areas?

I highly recommend contacting Ashley if you're considering investing in Gulf Shores. 

For a first-lien HELOC on a 2-unit rental property, I highly recommend reaching out to Taylor Adams at A&N Mortgage.

We stick to high quality neighborhoods and homes and are doing really well with it.