Buying in a random small town far away from home base

[Jan Kutrzeba]

What resources do you use when speculating on the future of a town you're investing in?

I found a property in a small town (population of <10k) in Florida. I've never heard of the town and know nothing about it (besides what I can find on Wikipedia and a basic google search), but the property looks promising (it's a mixed use building with 7 small residential units and three store fronts) and the numbers seem to add up when using the BP calculator, even being very conservative. 

Small towns are often small for a reason, but even small town folks need a place to live in and small town businesses need a place to operate from. My fear is that the town is dying and real estate value with it.

Would love to hear some insight!

Thanks in advance.

//Jan

First time investor from Brooklyn.