This isn't so much due to interest rates - these neighborhoods have been this way for at least 4 years.

I think it really depends on if you are able to increase that cap rate with value-adds post acquisition.

One problem that many people can run into especially at our young age is funding!

I have a background working with banks, hedge funds and large infrastructure developers, and have been told my sales and negotiation skills could be leveraged in real estate, particularly in wholesaling.

Start small with a property within your budget and skill set, using HELOC for funding.

I guarantee it would be a big issue and there would be talk of how things can be corrected or prevented from such a rate of such. 

And I don't know what the cap rates are in the area for SFRs, but I did a quick Redfin search for a small multi-family home in the area that's turnkey: https://www.redfin.com/VA/Richmond/1622-N-31st-St-23223/home.... 

Does anyone utilize a line of credit as an emergency fund?

Also what are the interest rates on your current loans?

On the private side, we fund in a couple of weeks.