Cashflow is king in these markets, just make sure there is enough meat on the bone to keep you motivated.

The property had good bones, had been on the market for over a year as a foreclosure, and I saw major potential.

I'd suggest looking for houses that are the ugliest on the block in good areas (ie they are outdated cosmetically, but still have good bones and the major systems are still in good shape).I'd start with your VA loan since it's such an amazing benefit; you get your hands a little dirty and start to understand the buying process, and the landlord process as a rental owner (if you house-hack).

Most of the deals I've purchased from wholesalers over the years have been the same handful of folks that know how to market for deals, know how to negotiate and know how to leave enough meat on the bone for investors to make the deals worthwhile.

I'm almost certain a hard money lender is going to require you to have some skin in the game since there's not a whole lot of left over meat on the bones. :-)   Maybe a more senior investor could give you better advice but this is my observation.

My initial thought is that I could use the BRRRR method of investing on this property since its bones are good, but cosmetically it is stuck in the 80's.

Leave some meat on the bone for them so it has a 5% to 6% cap rate after paying all expenses including management.

I know that there is plenty of meat on the bone for an investor.

Wholesalers not leaving much meat on the bone and they are still able to move their properties.

They routinely do a bare bones title search only for recorded liens.