I think that most mustachians rely on cash-flow for rentals. It's the approach I've taken anyways, but it is becoming nearly impossible to find places that work around here. When you find a listing that does work, you end up in a bid war with 10 other people. (Toronto market)
However, cashflow is only one way to play the Real-estate game. An eye-opening post was made years ago where
@arebelspy ran down different ways he knew of to make cash in the real-estate market. I couldn't tag that post now, but there were about a half-dozen ideas he shared ranging from selling already-made deals to prospective buyers to reno-flips, to buying on speculation, to being a market watcher and selling notifications, etc.
Your market sounds like a flip market or a spec market. The people are renting out the homes for just enough to carry a mortgage for a year, then selling for profit. No budget for repairs because they won't fix anything, utilities carried by the tenant, etc. This rapid turnover is pretty common in a hot market, and RE Agents love it. They make 5% on two deals 18 months apart - and everytime they resell the same house, they cash in again.