Rents don’t keep pace with property values so we invest in other markets.

So instead of going all in on my first commerical MF deal I've acquiesced and made the wiser decision of meeting my wife in the middle.

All of the new construction being added is too high end for most of the jobs in the area, so there will be added demand for middle income rentals.

It doesn't hurt to make a lower offer if the numbers work better for you, and be willing to settle somewhere in the middle.

The idea is that I would buy it and then start fixing it up as we go, to bring it up to where we'd want it to be at our pace.

Is there a middle man in said legal process (title company)?

Investors vs home buyers look for different things but if you meet in the middle, Cedar Park, Wells Branch, and Pflugerville offer big houses for much cheaper (a 4/3 2700sf at 320k vs a 2/1 condo 1200sf in central).

Hopefully I can keep my initial pace.

Middle class Rick will realize he can move in with his pal into a smaller unit and save 3/4 of his money.

Here in the Bay Area, no one puts 20% down on a $500k single family home -- they put 10% down on $1m, or 15% down on something in the middle.