However, the local who have been here with metal class incomes still have the dream of home ownership and fully renovated luxury options are not the best choice for them.

Congrats on taking the first step, usually people get hung up on only one strategy, and the best way to start your real estate investing journey is house hacking with lower down payments and interest rate since it is a new primary residence, especially since you can probably rent out your primary and cash flow when you move out.I'm a local investor and realtor here in Denver metro, and I've found success with house hacking here in Denver for myself (rent by room, Airbnb, Section 8, LTRs, etc) along with my clients too.

To comprehend local rental prices, vacancy rates, and rental demand, do in-depth market research.Cash-Out Refinance Strategy: Renovations that increase the property's value can potentially provide you with equity that you can tap into through a cash-out refinance.

I would also just suggest getting involved in local real estate meetups.

Are you local here in Central Florida?

If you know what the repair is one of the ways to save is use a local handy person and/or ship the part ahead of time.  

I'm local to the Chicago market and it is crazy right now.

This is not a problem if you use a licensed CA real estate broker to originate your loan since they get an exemption against usury for loans secured by real estate.My strong suggestion is to find an experienced hard money lender at a local real estate club to originate the loan for your lender.

I hope my abilities will serve me right with real estate investments.I am interested in buy and hold or fix & flip deals of SFH up to $250K.I would be happy to get some tips and start building connections and a local team.I appreciate your help,Chen

I would recommend getting in touch with some local wholesalers that may be able to source properties that fit your criteria.