I did 7 deals last year from out of state living in Austin Texas.

I agree with the others here that say you need to have some skin in the game, if you are going to live there yourself, get an FHA loan rather than owner financing, you can get a 3.5% down loan, personally I do not love these as they require  PMI which is an additional expense, and you also need  bring additional funds for closing at least for taxes, title, attorney and transfer fees . borrowing from anyone else for the down payment, to include a personal loan from the bank is not a good idea, those again will be higher int. rate.

If you need the cash flow to live on and it will improve your lifestyle, then go for it.

,I have sold and been managing properties that are near the MIA and haven't had any complaints from residents who are living in them.

If you go into Central or South Scottsdale (Old Town) $1M will buy you a smaller, older home, OR half of a big, remodeled home (as alot of the Arcadia and Old Town area are turning over old small homes to be big beautiful homes in the $2.5M range and higher).There are options.....for both buying and renting, that would work with your situation.By the way....it's 51 degrees in North Scottsdale right now where I live. 

I was thinking maybe Houston because my boyfriend lives there and I’m there a good portion of the year as is, but I’m open to any good market.

Since STR “lives” on reviews, being “right” because of the contract the guests signed might be the most expensive “right” you’ve ever experienced.So what’s left for the “wanna be” STR investor in today’s market?  

Having a property management company seems to be a good option for me since I am living out of state.

We live, office, and Property Manage in Queen Creek and love it!

My mum currently lives there, she is 80 and not very well, but you would also become a tenant in common and as such if you had the time you could profit 100% from the transaction, as I need cash urgently and am willing to heavily discount the asset.I am wondering if there is a market out there where someone wants to get a foothold in the London market by buying my part of the property.