Like @Sarah Miller and @Marcy Albrecht said, you can buy places within the city limits but it's still about location. with that said, i'm always looking out for my end game. one of the issues with buying in certain parts of canton is that when you decide you're done, you may not be able to unload your properties.

Also keep in mind, terms other than price will play a role in getting you offer accepted too.

Role-playing.     . you paid $300k 10 years ago, it’s worth $660k, (so when you sell you net $600k to make math easy.)and your cpa determined that you owned zero land, so it’s all depreciatable. you owe 15% on the $300k gain plus 25% tax on $109k depreciation recapture, so you owe $70k in federal taxes, then California reaches out for another $30k?  

Out of the 50 addresses zero will probably be interested in selling so it's a numbers game before you find the one. 

On the flip side the clients I fund in my land deals are doing very very well in the foothill subdivision 50 miles or so west of the springs.. but thats the land game buy low sell high.. cant wholesale that stuff it needs to go on MLS to marketed and turn around time is generally 90 to 180 days but nice margins for my clients ..

And in part, it depends on the investors and capital that you have access to (this tends to play a factor in many decisions when raising outside capital).If you do want to go the fund route, you might want to consider using Avestor. 

Looking to upgrade my game and speed is of the essence.

I also have rentals in Detroit that I get far higher rents with cash paying tenants than I would a section 8 tenant.There are a lot of factors at play and the answer to "why would the government allow our tax dollars to be spent this way?"

If able, speak to them face-to-face at their work, your kids soccer game, church, whatever.

If I could rewind 7 years, I would’ve personally scooped up another property near downtown...prices were more forgiving back then.All that said, I’m curious..if you were getting back in the game today, would a condo with strong amenities but an unpredictable HOA top your list, or are you eyeing single-families for that full control?