Look at all the costs you have associated in a deal.

Me personally, I would lean toward assuming the additional risk for the potential reward associated with REI when weighed against using excess cash to pay off student loans at what I presume are relatively low rates, especially when adjusted for tax deductions (if you receive the deduction for student loan interest anyway). 

While I am working on my business degree becoming an agent is absolutely priceless and the knowledge I have gained in huge!

You now own it, have to pay taxes going forward, have insurance, responsible for any HOA (Homeowner Association) fees, city fees for mowing (if necessary) etc.

After I remove the appraisal and home inspection contingencies (assuming the house appraised for the value I'm paying and the home inspection didn't reveal any surprises), I have the title company order the title report (I would have already pulled a title profile on the property as part of my due diligence).In CA we use a standard California Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions provided by the California Association of REALTORS(R), Inc. 

To a certain degree it will depend on your market, the property, and of course the tenant.That said, the deposit should be handled as you would with any other application.  

(full disclosure, I hold both an appraiser's certification and associate broker's license... and live upstate).

Go to the source for the facts, either the state website itself or a reputable source, such as the state association of realtors. 

Thanks for your USCG service, and congrats on your recent degree as well.

We usually find these buyers are out of state (typically California) with some nostalgic attachment to the area--either grew up here or went to school here.If you look at the alternatives these two types of buyers have--first time home buyer who qualifies for under $150K and can go FHA, and the California buyer with $100K who wants some degree of geographic familiarity--what are their other investment opportunities that will do better for them if they're not in the business?