Payments $492 (interest, tax, insurance) currently owe $51K.

I'm going to reiterate what's already been mentioned above, but I'm going to actually give you examples of why it's relevant to you to find a U.S. tax professional.1 - You're going to need to file U.S. taxes once you have property down here, there's federal filings, state filings, and sometimes local filings too2 - Tons of tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada that are easy to miss and can cost you a lot of money (important one with rentals - effectively connected income - if the professional you talk to doesn't know what this is, run away)3 - The amount of days you spend in the U.S. needs to be tracked and if you go over a threshold, all of your worldwide income could be taxable by the U.S.4 - Selling real property means up to 15% of your sales proceeds might not be available to you for years (FIRPTA)5 - Lots of nuance at the state and local levels, which both want to take as much money from you as possibleMain takeaway here is that you should find a U.S. based tax person.

Rents may be high, but where are taxes and insurance.

I have made my own list of leads as well with some properties that I find vacant, probate, tax lien. but have only helped an out of state realtor on a deal a yr ago. and 2025 I would like to have the right people to go to with questions and or properties when I talk/find home owners that are willing to get rid of the property as well. 

Rents have been pretty close to what the housing authorities advertise, sometimes even a bit higher.Fort Wayne’s a solid spot with low taxes and good cash flow—definitely worth looking into.

No management costs as it would be self managed, and estimated property taxes by the average of the past few years.

That one is a big deal for rebuilding.I've also heard of property tax reductions for properties significantly damaged during the storm.Depending on the property and what you want to do, the hurricanes affected property tax, insurance, and permitting in a lot of ways.

I am on the west coast, but have a SFH in Pigtown and believe I am finally at the point of needing someone "in town". 

A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

BUT...if you're American and can still get loans in the US (the silver lining of having to still file US income taxes while living abroad), then why not use leverage?