(every house in the development is situated on 1+ acre lots in the heavily wooded area; it's not quite clear where the property border goes).

The realtors that are heavily involved in RE investment attempt to snatch up the best deals for themselves and pass off the thin deals to other, including you.

So I'd still focus most heavily on looking for a distressed situation when buying, and not counting on an improving bottom line helping you out.

As a side note, my research indicates that this is an opportunity once in a lifetime to invest in real estate so I'm heavily leveraged.

It's about researching and networking effectively but most importantly, building relationships with local experts like property managers, contractors, and real estate agents.The BRRRR strategy can be profitable but it relies heavily on trustworthy partners.

We spent most of our time building a strong network the in area leaning pretty heavily on friends and family at first. 

Until the issue is fixed not many want to touch flood properties.The stigma will definitely reduce the resale renovated value from other comparables heavily.

Things are not always what they look at by the pics and you may have to rely heavily on the agent to make the decision if you should fly out to visit the property.

Some people heavily promote that idea because it sounds good (aka marketing candy), but they are masking an ugly truth about the high cost of such an approach. 

I am focusing heavily on the education side of what a brokerage can offer in hopes to later leverage that into future investing activities.