Thank you all who responded, I plan on spending some time driving the neighborhood and talking to anyone at the local coffee shop who will talk to me. 

I am always open to any trend but right now I am compelled to restrain myself to the local market, my rule of thumb is 25-30 minutes drive from my home.

To get started, connect with a knowledgeable real estate agent and lender, practice analyzing deals, and network through local investor meetups.

Yep check BP and Meetup.com or Eventbrite for local meetups @Baron Wheeler

Quote from @Basit Siddiqi: I personally would not buy real estate with a retirement account.There are just too many headaches that are not worth the potential increased return.Some headaches when it comes to investing in real estate with a retirement account1) LTV values are less and harder to find lenders.2) Potential to sell or partially distibute the property if you have to do a RMD(Required Minimum Distribution)3) If you run out of cash and have to make a major repair, you may be out of luck and have to sell.4) Having to potentially worry about UBTI(Unrelated Business Taxable Income)I would personally invest in stocks/bonds/notes with a retirement account.I buy deals with cash and use a ROTH SDIRA so there are no RMD's.I buy at huge discounts to retail.

This property is in shenandoah valley, so my plan is to findout from the local county office/health dept.

Here are some practical steps and strategies to consider:## Single Family and Small Multifamily HomesWhen looking at single-family and small multifamily homes in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, make sure to analyze the local market trends, rental yields, and property appreciation rates.

Localized knowledge for an agent or investor is needed to answer most of these questions.

I mean by safest is on the volatility, for example STRs have many different factors, seasons of the year, local government regs and much more.

Here's a link https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/shared/Documents/Publications/FoodSafety/ServiceAnimalsposter.pdf You're mixing things up and only looking on a local level.