Looking primarily cash flow as there isn't a whole lot of appreciation in our area as we are in a pretty economically depressed area without a whole lot of upside in the near future.  

The problem with Houston, Dallas and Austin is that TX has some of the highest property taxes and insurance rates in the nation which significantly depresses cash flow.

Many MFHs are seller financed and the sales never get recorded naturally depressing the market.

Plenty of folks became millionaires by renting out low income housing in depressed areas .

Comparing the initial investment to what I’d get in rent over the west coast compared to the Midwest can be a little depressing!

You could have just bought her shares in the S&P500 index fund, which returns, on average, 10-11% -- and that's including the Great Depression in 1929 and the Great Recession in 2008.

There is certainly a lot of interesting thought leadership around how to reposition dead malls and lifestyle centers:https://www.cnu.org/publicsqua...https://knowledgestage.uli.org...Here are some key considerations if your strategy is to invest in depressed retail assets:Market Fundamentals:  Did the property lose tenants because of macro-trends affecting retail (e.g. category disruptions in apparel, department stores, big boxes, etc) or are the fundamentals of the local market weak (e.g. declining populations, stagnant economy, high unemployment, lowering HHIs, etc) — if it’s the latter, then you should investigate potential growth drivers for that market and the time horizon for them to come to fruition.Zoning: Is the property zoned for your intended re-use?  

Keep in mind, prices have only retreated on an average national scale twice since the great depression.

Is my projected cashflow as depressing as it seems? 

Bibb County (Macon) is depressed, runs a deficit every year, the schools are terrible, and is only focusing on revitalizing the downtown area.