There is one city near me where the average rents are over $2400 per month and that makes sense for that area, but if you are buying or renting out the numerous places that only rent out for $1600 max per month, that entire macro stat is useless.  

They have numerous guides you can read about how to get started.

Competition is to numerous.

For me, I keep tabs through a variety of sources.

But at the end of the day, this agent has lied to me numerous times and I just can't trust that.

In a metro area like the suburbs of New York, there are numerous families that aren't in a position to own yet, or aren't looking to buy and commit to an unfamiliar area without experiencing it.

Much like I would use census data, economic data and property data from a variety of sources to evaluate a city and neighborhood as potential areas to buy investment property. 

The Dallas-Fort Worth area seems to have a nice variety of properties to invest in and housing seems to be relatively cheap too.

I've tried wholesaling, seller financing, and variety of other investing tactics.  

I have read many, many quality and experienced posts here on BP and am enjoying the variety of topics, and learning new things.My goals are to establish quality connections and build trusted relationships with real estate investors who have properties available for purchase, or need investment properties "off market" (which is where I feel I add value), or who require  financing on their projects, which I absolutely loved doing when I was a CRE Loan Officer.