I want to buy a single family house (3+ beds, 2+ bath ish) in a market that will appreciate in the next 3-4 years.

People who aren't in the industry don't know the difference between the two, but it is important to point out that you are building modular. 

I don't have the funds to buy the house and then hold it while it sells.  

This is a very fair game I could say, I meant to say in the real world they're just "property management"/REIT that doesn't necessarily have to perform to buy/sell the property to increase NAV.

@Nina Diehl what Property Class are you buying?

The biggest draw for folks is the low-down payment typically, and often times, if the buyer does not yet have the 3-5% down payment required they may not actually be financially ready to buy a home anyway.  

You can easily buy a single family house here in that price range that meets the 1% rule and positive cash flow here!

I own one rental house in Cypress, but with the current market I have not been able to find another existing single family home to buy that looks like a good investment. 

I think people over think this.

Road Runners, Quail, Doves and coyotes are relatively afraid of people and/or harmless.