First time investor in possible flood zone

[Ken M Middleton]

Hey all,

My wife and I are considering purchasing our first rental property and we could use some advice if this is something we should risk or not.

The numbers seem pretty good, as the asking price is currently $49,900 and the rental comps in the area are $775 on average. It looks like it could use some light cosmetic work (maybe 5k) but nothing crazy.  I have three questions that I would like to use the collective knowledge of BiggerPockets to help with if possible.

1. The house has been on the market for 117 days, so we are thinking about offering less than the asking price, but not sure how low we should go. Any advice here?

2. The location is about 90 minutes from where we currently live, so we are wondering if we should make this our first investment. We could get there pretty easily each weekend. 

3. It is in what is considered a 9 out of 10 flood zone, but it appears the damage would be low based on the actual area. The statement from the report read "Based on this property's risk and building details, it is expected to see $2 in flood damage in 30 years," but it also said that there is a 96% chance it would flood in 15 years. 

Any advice on any or all of these three questions is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

KMM