Especially as you start to get a little further outside of downtown.Plenty of opportunity to get equity with the housing stock being so old and a lot of properties needing to be rehabbed.

Augusta indeed offers great potential with a strong rental market driven by factors such as population growth and a stable job market.

We also lead a Joplin Area REIA on the First Tuesday of each month at Old Chicago/La Quinta and a Springfield Mo REIA on the first Thursday of each month at the Relics event center.

And a handful with 25 to 50 homes.. same thing I fund the front end of the BRRR and they refi and pay me off.My latest adventure is funding land flippers and I have two that are knocking it out of the park..

And as others have posted, make sure you are using a good title an escrow company to facilitate this.

My $2000 also covers stuff that inevitably break under normal use - I had to replace a washer $700, a stove $600, a microwave $100, and a grill $400, all  within last 2 years, and paid close to $1000 for various service calls by electricians and HVAC techs and pest control. 

I think the main thing people would point to as a red flag for Ocala is that it is not a large employment center like Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville and as a result may be more exposed to a pull back in values when there is a downturn. 

But as far monthly payment you could easily buy a house in a cheaper location have less roommates and the same monthly payment or the same number of roommates and a lower monthly payment.

Plenty of people invest remotely, and as long as you have modest expectations (not chasing the highest possible yield), and are using light leverage, and don't get suckered into buying in a part of town that you wouldn't feel comfortable visiting in broad daylight, plenty of people do this and do... fine.

I would recommend calling the city building dept, they are easy to get in touch with and a lot more helpful than other municipalities in the area.