I’m 29, currently working a W2 job, and starting to dive into real estate investing.

For vacancy rates, I would Google it for your jurisdiction with recognition that small operators usually cannot turn a unit as quickly as bigger operators but may end up with less vacancies so it may be a wash overall but in my underwriting, if I had no handyman crew, I would use a bit higher rate than the jurisdiction’s vacancy rate.property manager reduces the need for a book keeper and can make tax person’s job easier but likely does not eliminate the need.    

After reading the regs to become a REP for 2025, I realize there's no way I'll meet the "more than half" rule since I worked at my full-time job through 6/30.

The market benefits from a robust job sector in energy, healthcare, and aerospace, which supports rental demand and potential appreciation.

I do  have a good paying job that helps me pay my primary residence, but I like to plan for rainy days.My ultimate goal is have enough rental income to live off of, so I know conventional wisdom says I need to buy more rentals.

i barely made 50k this year with 2 jobs. 

Now keep in mind, these are the guys that have been trained and are not starting up "cold turkey"Have at least 6 months of reserves on hand for eating, bills etc to cover the slow months.Going into winter is not a great time for the market in most places.Wholesaling is one of the highest taxed jobs you can have.Does it work, yes.

You could even use the primary home to house hack.Wholesaling also doesn't require much capital, credit, nor even a job! 

Somewhere with low supply and high demand, population growth, a diverse and robust job market (even better if there are a lot of recession-proof jobs such as in government, education, etc as opposed to boom and bust jobs like energy and tech), high appreciation of both values and rent, desirability (somewhere people choose to live, not cheap locations where people live because it’s all they can afford but don’t really choose to live), and ideally within 20-30 minutes of where you live, but up to an hour away is acceptable if you’re just getting started, or farther if you know the location on a house by house level and have personal connections there.

When I'm evaluating MF opportunities, I’m focused on:• Rent demand, job growth, and the local supply pipeline• Expense ratios compared to market norms• Break-even occupancy and how conservative the underwriting is• How the deal performs under downside scenarios (flat rents, higher expenses, cap rate expansion)Multifamily is predictable.