Athens GA first rental property

[Mayukh Guha]

Hello Everyone, 

I am new to BP and have been thinking about buying my first rental property for a while. I had lived in Athens GA as a grad student (2010-2016), however, I now live and work on the west coast. I was wondering if purchasing a rental property in the city is a good idea right now. I am looking at $200-220K properties (20% down, 80% mortgage) and just about break even or have upto $50 cash flow. This is mainly because of the distance - I will have to find a reliable property management company. My goal is to eventually get to a higher cash flow in the years to come and simultaneously build equity in the property.  My personal motivations and limitations have made me not consider turnkey, flipping and house hacking. My questions are : 

1) Any suggestions or comments about the student rental market in Athens ?

2) I have been reading that Athens shows around 7% appreciation per year, Is this correct ? 

3) Any foresight on how the Athens market will look like in the next 5-7 years ? I am keen on finding out whether this market is a good starting point if I wish to develop a small portfolio of say 5 rental properties over the next 5 years. 

Best.