What I’ve noticed is that the returns don’t always scale proportionally with price, and there definitely seems to be a “sweet spot” where demand, occupancy, and operational risk all balance out.

if your a new RE investor hoping to use a conventional, fha, or va loan then DTI is important.I think experienced RE investors are not usually impacted by DTI.My RE debt is ~60 times my yearly income or using your formula is 483% (over 10 times higher than OP indicated as the sweet spot).  

A lot of investors I know in similar positions have found the hybrid model to be the sweet spot: outsource leasing/renewals since that’s where student rentals can really eat up time, but keep CapEx/maintenance oversight in-house to protect margins.

Sweet!

Michigan, especially mid to north could be sweet, too.

Still trying to find the sweet spot there.Have you run into tenants who flat-out refuse the portal but are otherwise solid renters?

The sweet spot is getting a favorable prepay and taking advantage of the lower rates, especially if you are constantly extending a bridge loan. 

With your buy box and budget, you’re definitely in the sweet spot for stable single-family rentals.A couple of quick notes from experience:Focus on tenant-friendly neighborhoods where Section 8 rents can often outpace market rents.Line up a good property manager early, that makes or breaks cash flow in Memphis.Wholesalers can get you deals in the $70K–$90K all-in range, but you’ll want to move quickly when they come up.I work with quite a few investors running BRRRRs here, so if you want to connect, I can point you toward reliable agents, PMs, and rehab crews who know how to work within those numbers.Glad to have you in the Memphis space, it’s a strong city to scale in.

Three to six months feels like that sweet spot, enough to ride out issues but not so much that your money sits idle.

Many gurus promote these properties misrepresenting they are getting Class A or B results or S8 tenants are easy to deal with:(Class B Properties: we believe this is the "sweet spot" for investors in any market and has historically been also true (look at what average investor was buying before the Great Real Estate Crash!).