It is close to the downtown area but the majority of area is bigger lots and on the other side of a prominent hill that gives it a more out in the country feelFoothills is the most exclusive areas with higher price points and lots of upper end shopping and diningMarana and Oro Valley are the newer "suburban" areas of Tucson that have the laid back walking and biking paths, golf clubs, snow bird / retiree type activities that draw visitors in and then get hooked and eventually buy homesIf you haven't tried Tucson yet, there is quite the variety and with snowbirds leaving, there are plenty of current STR's ready to host you as the summer warms up. 

Bigger loan buy downs and bigger numbers for appreciation.

Also that will give me a lower payment which will allow me to have bigger profit from rent.

And then if you can find ways to transfer those Amex points when a bonus comes around, you get an even bigger score.I need to dig into how TPG values AmEx points at 2%. 

thats 4200 in lost rent at 100 a month it will take you 42 months to get that money back.. and if you keep waiting it just gets worse.. price your rental to be the BEST priced one on the block the first one to get occupied not the last. this is were competition for rentals can bring rents DOWN and does. do the math..

Keep in mind, most offmarket/distressed deals are traded offmarket before they even hit the auction block. 

There are older homes that will be a bigger problem repair wise usually.

We aren’t aiming for anything top of the line or updated but we need bigger and more bedrooms etc. so our next home we are looking $450kish and not much more. 

My plan currently, is to start small with high cash-on-cash returns to learn and build equity, then re-invest in bigger properties.

I stumbled on bigger pockets and was hoping to download those excel templates and to learn more about real estate.