Looking to narrow down a market for long distance rental properties.

[Craig Cecin]

Hi all,

I've been doing a lot of reading and research on long term rental property investing, specifically long distance investing, and am somewhat stuck at which market to pursue for long term rental property investments. I am active duty military stationed in southern California and cannot afford that market. I have been doing macro studies of the following locations and would appreciate any feedback on the goods and bads of these locations, or any other recommended markets for a new investor. I am looking to buy and hold for long term single family or small multifamily rentals: 

-San Antonio, TX: Seems to have a decent amount of properties available but property taxes are high cutting into cash flow.

-Tampa, FL: Rental market seems sizable and stable but insurance rates seem high and potential of hurricanes, etc.

-Jacksonville, FL: Same concerns for natural disasters and insurance rates.

-Columbus, OH: I have had many people tell me to look into OH for good cash flow. Is this a flooded market or are there investments to be made still?

-Tucson, AZ: Seems to have an average population/job growth and decent rent rates, plus good weather.

-Knoxville, TN: Decent rent rates, lower property taxes, high % of renters.

-Raleigh, NC: Low rent to income ratio, average rent rates, moderate rent rate increase.

-Charlotte, NC: Good job/population growth, lower vacancy rate, higher rent, lower taxes.

Please let me know what you think, thanks ahead of time!

[Peter Mckernan]

Quote from @Craig Cecin:

Quote from @Josue Rosa:

Hi Craig. Have you considered using a VA loan to purchase an investment property here in California? As a fellow resident and investor, I feel you - the prices can be much higher, but the down payment and closing cost benefits of a VA loan plus the use of the rental income to help qualify for a higher purchase price could be worth considering. I mention California because you would have to occupy the property for at least 1 year before you could refinance and use a VA loan elsewhere.

If this strategy doesn't make sense, what are your top investing goals? Is cashflow, appreciation, or tax benefits most important? Are you looking to do short, medium, or long term rentals, or focus on a niche like student or corporate housing? The more you learn about each of these options, the easier it will be to pick a market that best suits you.

I haven't really looked into buying in CA, I did when I initially moved here but the prices close to my work drove me away from that idea. I have used the VA loan before though so am aware of it's benefits. 
I think I'd like to target cash flow and equity for long term rentals. Is cash flow possible in the SoCal area with the state of the market?
Thanks!

 To be honest, no, it does not cashflow in normal markets in CA. There are a lot of things you need to do to get the cashflow flowing in the market; however, there is cashflow quickly after that and the bumps in rent are higher than other places. If you go off what CA imposed you can be as high as 10% on each rental increase for instance $2K could be $2,200 after the first year. That is what brings a lot of people to liking and buying in CA, and then the appreciation/equity piece of the puzzle as well. 

But if you were to go buy VA today the cashflow would be negative to 0 but you can get creative as well.

There are investors that I work with and have worked with, they bought 1-2 rentals a year up until 2008 and their net worth is in the eight figures.