Hi, Kerry. I would love to meet you when you come out some time. I live around Huntsville, the epicenter of northern Alabama. The Shoals is a great place to settle down and take life slow. Appreciation kind of lags compared to other places further east in northern Alabama. Rents are generally low there as well, but definitely stable. The area has attracted a lot of new young professionals with their work from home marketing that gives $10,000 to qualified families to help them establish themselves in the area. So check that out! I'm not sure if the program is still going on, but has definitely revitalized a lot of the area when it was once destined to follow the way of other older cities that are aging out of existence both in terms of people and property.
I personally target Lauderdale, Limestone, Morgan, and Madison Counties. I have property in three out of four of those counties including one SFH in Madison, one SFH in Limestone on 20 acres that's being developed to a MHP slowly, and one existing small MHP in Morgan County.
A lot of big developments are happening here and this is the fastest growing places in Alabama. It has eclipsed all other cities in Alabama. Much of it based on defense spending that will likely increase as assets are moved from Colorado to Alabama to include the Space Command HQ. There's also a good amount of manufacturing hubs here. Labor is much cheaper than other parts of the US. A young population plus a growing industry makes for good long term investments, but unless you are really scaling the cashflow can be hit or miss.
There's a few opportunities to buy quads, tris, and duplexes. Some can actually be pretty cheap. I've also seen a lot of BRRRR opportunities and house hacking opportunities in the Shoals area. Less so in Lauderdale County because there is not a lot of multifamily I can see there, but definitely in the "quad-cities" area.
I have recommendations for lenders and agents in the area that can help your journey as well. They will have better recommendations for any title companies or lawyers there. I haven't actually closed a deal that far west or else I would be able to give more insight.
Nita Cook is a great property manager in the area for short term and long term rentals. Her husband is also a GC who can help build additional units as needed if you get something that can fit an ADU. Getting a house with over an acre of land isn't too hard for a good price out there.