A local couple who’se combined income is 300K and who sponsored the family’s immigration to US is willing to be co-signers for the family of 5.I am thinking that Party2 will put more miles on the house and may be harder to deal with in case of any complaints or eviction, though I am not an experienced landlord so I am not sure what are the factors to evaluate or what all can go wrong?

Especially if you have a local handyman you can trust to take care of the property.

I'd suggest checking local Airbnb/VRBO data or using AirDNA to see occupancy rates and average nightly rates in the area.

Ensure the sublease is explicitly permitted in a written agreement with your friend and aligns with local STR laws.

The most sure path for local RE investors seems to be with a near term exit. 

With those numbers, have you checked with a local bank or credit union?

I completed an internship in commercial real estate, and I also attended a couple of local REIA meetings/networking events before moving to Northern VA.I was able to narrow down potential strategies, and I figured both BRRR as well as wholesaling don't seem to be the best strategies for me.

Locals know that and you can see that in DOM. 

If you are searching for offmarket, you can network with local wholesalers, and also use something like dealmachine to generate leads.

Found this property through our local online foreclosure auction site.