Metro Atlanta, generally speaking, respective markets 30 to 45 minutes from the City, will be tight on cash flow unless you implement a creative investment strategy, such as short-term rentals, medium-term rentals, or rent-by-the-room properties, or allocate at least 30% to 35% towards your downpayment if you intend to hold the property as a long-term rental. 

And it often works because they are often working such long hours they are almost never home. 

There are a few that do not have any seasoning requirement on a cash out refinance as long was there was rehab completed on the property.

There are a lot of good posts on here so I would take some time and read the forum so you can hit the ground running.

We have considered long-distance real estate too so we can consider other markets too. 

If you plan to live there in the winters, you might have a hard time doing long term rental outside of that and finding a new tenant every summer.

I would have asked you what your long-term goal is but you have already thought about it.

I assume you know at this point but in general, the goal is the screen for a very good tenant and keep them there as long as possible.

It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.6.

I would recommend you begin researching Chicago based meetups as there are a bunch of really good ones.