OOS investing metrics

[Venkatesh Katari]

Hi everyone! I am new to BP forum. I want to start my journey on REI. I had been reading books by Bradon and David and had been listening to the amazing BP podcasts. I live in the bay area and cannot afford a rental property here. OOS seems to be my option now. Since it's my first investment, I am skeptical about taking the leap and buying in areas/cities which are totally unfamiliar to me. I shorted listed some cities/areas(Seattle, Austin, Dallas, Portland, Phoenix) where I have personal contacts, however, in these places, the cash on cash return is very low (2%-4%). So I was wondering what metrics and their respective values do you look into (say coc % greater than 10%, yoy increase% greater than 6% etc) to conclude that a certain property is a good rental property for long term holding.

Thank You