I have buddies in western PA getting houses for 500-2,500 each from the county tax repository sales.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthereCheck out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

Unfortunately, that company pretty much only services the western part of the U.S.

They're in areas where I think it would be possible to get a mix of both Western/K College students, or longer term renters.Thanks for the thoughts!

Hi Gary - What area of Western NC are you from?

I live in Western NC near Lake James and the NC mountains, where I wouldn't doubt you've probably done some business on occasion.

NOTE: This is how a bank that I deal with in Western PA does things, and its working good for me, but it much more work to find the GREAT deals that flow what I need to make it worth my time while also meeting those lending guidelines.

@Cerwin Haynes is actually right down the road from me, and our market (Western NY) is a little unique in some ways, but in general if a market doesn't see huge Booms, it will tend not to see huge Busts either.

Beyond that, it is of limited and questionable utility for DIY landlords in western Pennsylvania. 

It is true, that a generalist, will not be as fast at any craft as are the specialists, but he also won't have any of the delays typical caused by waiting for a subcontractor to come perform their specialty.Here in Western WA, a proficient professional contractor, will complete the construction of a house, from foundation pour to final County inspection in 4 months. 

This is my original post: Please see update below:I bought a single-family house (SFH) in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area from New Western Acquisitions in June of 2019, and my experience has been bad and horrible.