:I too am a fan of looking for diamonds in my own back yard.For starters, why would I live in an area that is not a good investment, has a sinking economy, lacks job growth and opportunity, etc.  

Pre-covid I was a Delta Diamond lvl Member.

If you are looking for the diamond in the rough, you will need strong team, and I mean STRONG trustworthy team.

Him and Michael Carbonare and Claude Diamond are the kings of the cooperative lease option assignment.

Besides looking great and selling the rental, they're way more durable than the preformed laminate on pressboard, the tiles are easily repairable or replaceable if a tenant does manage to damage a tile(hasn't happened yet but the family has chipped the granite slab in my own kitchen), they're cheap at ~$5 sq ft for the granite, and finally not too hard to build for the handy with a tile saw (I did my first with a real cheapie) and a set of diamond polishing disks off Ebay for the exposed edges.

Because, house hacking is comparatively simple and beginner-friendly (and therefore has the highest likelihood of success), but strategies like BRRR'ing, flipping, wholesaling, out of state investing, etc. are far more complicated, and have a far higher chance of failure because they involve so many "moving pieces".I always use this analogy: would you tell a beginner skier who has zero experience to ski a double black diamond (the most advanced terrain) for their first run?

Again, I would do your due diligence, but you never know...it could be a diamond in the rough.  

Also I was thinking of putting the word out on Facebook for folks to keep eyes open for empty houses and mail out letters to vacant home owners trying to find the diamond in the rough.

Also looking for that diamond in the rough.

@Derek Diamond Thanks for mentioning that, I've read a lot of his work, and it is empowering for sure!