I live in Salt Lake, where I couldn't afford my own house had I not bought 5 years ago, but I was determined to start investing somewhere, somehow.

I would ideally like to find a property to BRRR, but prices right now are making it hard to find a deal that leaves enough room to afford repairs.

@Elias Barend Westhof would you be able to afford to buy the place if the tenant was paying on time?

A buddy of mine wants to build a custom cabin in the mountains outside San Diego and is going to abandon the project (on principle, he can afford it) because his pre build costs from the county/state are $110, 000.

Heck, it's hard for us part time investors to source properties, find reliable and affordable contractors, and rehab a property even when local. 

The cheapest quote I have gotten is $2800 is there any advice or tips that anyone has for me on how to get a more affordable flood insurance.

For longterm rentals, some things to know are, how to calculate affordability of an area (a function of median income, interest rate, median home price), look at migration patterns (are people moving into or out of an area, what are the trends), business climate (are businesses moving to the area or out, what type of industries, income level, etc), rental amounts,  that's all I can think of at the moment.I wish I would've known more about evaluating markets when I bought my first few properties. 2 of the first rentals I bought, went absolutely no where when I finally sold them about 17 years after I bought them.

Maintaining an affordable housing supply is a vital component of the American economy.

We are on forbearance for our home until the end of my Americorps position (I applied to the 10 month Americorps program when the restaurant I was working for shut down for COVID, I earn a small stipend now....) so I don't know if 'buying our second property' should be my goal.Here is what I know: I want to focus on value-add buy-and-hold investments for the primary focus of providing affordable housing.                                

The midwest tends to have more affordable housing that will cash flow well and the coasts are more expensive with more appreciation.