I've actually had not so great of experiences with local wholesalers, basically they either send MLS deals or redemption deals that they are pitching at WAY too high of an ARV and WAY too low of a rehab budget. 

Even there, I spend the bulk of my time on investing and only a small amount in the brokerage business.I think if you can be successful in NYC, you can crush it anywhere.

Since we don't live in the states, we're trying to get creative with our funding and investment areas but we haven't seemed to pick definitives in either category (although we have been checking out Georgia and Ohio mainly since they seem to be in our budget). 

Given that you'll likely have sub-par tenants, I would budget a higher amount to account for evictions, late payments, tenants just skipping town, etc.What do you anticipate your maintenance/repair expense will be?

Some things that matter:location (neighborhood, safety, freeway access, parking)amenities  (W/D, appliances, dishwasher, storage, garage, fireplace, AC, walk in closet, etc)number of bedrooms/bathrooms  (layoutcondition  (Is it clean, remodeled, dated, light and bright ...)Yard, privacy, balcony, One of the most important pieces affecting pricing is number of bedrooms.In short, spend some time checking comparables and then price accordingly.

If you can live for free, then the money you would be spending on rent/mortgage can be saved and reinvested. 

Depends on budget, timeline, how the house is built/laid out but I'd lean towards a double vanity as you have enough space there.

I also filed during that time.My income would allow me to spend 200-230k on a home, although I'm not prequalified for anything.

I was wondering how to budget since I’ll have to pay outright and won’t see tax benefits until later or even only until I sell.

My budget is more like 250-350k, with around 50-75k down.