In my experience one of my biggest lessons learned when dealing with older properties always expect more than you initially thought. 

This is only for an 1,800 sf. one story ranch, not like it's a furnished 5,000 sq property. 

But you are paying now --  So, you'll pay one way or the other.

Must be cash-flow positive, so I would need to bring in one hell of a downpayment unless interest rates decrease.2.

The internet makes the world very small.As far as buying out of state, one challenge I did not see any other replies mention is your occupancy. 

Downsizing a one factory town.I would expect if FedGov downsizes, a lot of the corresponding periphery businesses/consulting firms, etc shut down.There has also been talk of such things like FBI moving out of Washington, I think some of that has already been the trend, but may accelerate. 

At the moment, I have one SFH rental in Fort Worth.

I could get around 50k through a heloc and renovate my basement into a two bedroom one bath apartment, hopefully getting $1500 a peice in rent to cover my mortgage.

I will say that it was the one of the best experiences I had as a newer Real Estate Investor or even someone that’s just looking to learn more about Real Estate strategies.

But of the options you note, the only one that really makes sense to me is the CoC option.