Having a long-term rental while living abroad is do-able.Flipping houses while abroad, in my opinion, more difficult, especially if its your first go around with real estate.I would recommend taking a flight and staying in the area for a week and inspect the neighborhoods and make connections.You can reach out to @Elenis Camargo who has a PM company in Jacksonville.Best of luck though.

It's very cheap and not difficult to maintain bond/license/insurance.

Not sure why that happen, however the best way to screen a potential tenant is to see how they have performed in the past. 

If you announce to people there that you are a private lender, you'll have a lineup around the room to talk to you.  

And how long did it take to sell.

The environment now with higher interest rates and higher purchase price does make it more difficult but definitely doable. 

Not disputing your experience and I'm sure your agent is great.However, the Goosehead model is designed for the local agent to sell and the corporation to service.

Let's assume that the neighborhood is a C class and the median income of the city is greater than 3X of the market rent.Here are some of the considerations I've come up with so far:- Units are in need of renovation and capex is too high or not available- Unit quality is not the same as market - Seller is worried about losing tenants due to increase- Vacancy rates are high or filling units have been difficult- Rent increase would take multiple increases over multiple lease periods to get to market rate if seller is trying to retain the same tenant- Seller inherited property and just want to liquidate- Seller needs to liquidate quickly (financial burden, sickness, quick exit from land-lording)It seems like I might be missing a warning sign about a deal if they are selling with current rents that are under market; but again, this seems to be most of the properties I've underwritten.And in the same vein, what should I be worried about when purchasing a deal with under market rent with the intention of raising them after purchase. 

Welcome to BiggerPockets, Rolayne! 

Can I use a local notary or would I have to go to a US consulate/embassy.