Columbus, Ohio / Milwaukee, Wisconson property

[Chris Green]

Hey guys!  

My wife and I are very new to rental properties (and real estate in general) but have been lurking around the site and learning as much as we can on the Bigger Pockets forums, podcasts, and books for the past year.  We are very interested in starting out rental property future sometime in the next 6 months.

We currently live in Brooklyn, NY, where there is a high barrier to entry both financially and competitively.  We don't have enough savings to even come close to the down payment necessary not to mention the risk involved for that amount of money here in the greater NYC area.

We have family near both Milwaukee, WI and Columbus, OH.  We have previously lived in both areas, and they seem to have promising cash flow opportunities with a much more realistic entry cost, especially given the colleges and new influx of bars, restaurants, and nightlife in the areas. While we plan on financing the purchasing, repairs, and updating of properties ourselves, we are considering asking the family to act as local property managers for emergencies and to check in on the properties if there are any immediate needs. (That being said we are more than ok / prepared for traveling to view, close, and rehab properties, meet with tenants, perform non immediate repairs etc.)

For a down payment, we have a maximum of around 100k in savings that we could invest, but for our first property would prefer to put down much less (20-40k).

**Side notes**:  Also a plus, my wife is an interior designer, so -should we need to do any rehabs we have a good understanding of communicating with contractors and manufacturers and have the ability to purchase supplies at a discounted rate.

I guess our questions are (being total newbs), are there any immediate red flags or concerns?  Any tips or things to lookout for?  Is this a poor strategy to get started in rental property investing?  Is one location better for cashflow than the other?  Any market tips for the given locations.  It would be great to speak to someone who has experience in either location and can provide some more detailed feedback.