I ended up having to hire an attorney, file for a writ of assistance, and have the sheriff serve the writ by showing up and physically removing the occupants.

In my area these are rare so they are difficult to set market rent, and I imagine get a lot of wear and tear with a lot of occupants living there. 

By trade I have been in occupational therapy for 10 years, but am willing to take a pay cut to really focus on what will make me the most successful investor I can be.

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. 

We added value by investing $45,000 in well-planned renovations, modernizing key areas, enhancing curb appeal, and ensuring market-ready quality.

I would spend money to enhance and update to current standards the search functionality and person to person tagging so it's easier to find stuff.

My low months were 50-65% occupancy and 100% for summer.

That’s why you get a discounted interest rate and a lower downpayment, because owne occupant properties are low risk. 

An 80% occupancy rate indicates low demand. 

We then export this data into an Excel spreadsheet to review metrics such as average occupancy, daily rates, and annual revenue for that specific property type and location.We'll also look at the top-performing properties in the area and analyze the amenities they offer, their location, proximity to attractions/beach etc.