I went to school in Santa Barbara and moved from just north of San Francisco to live and invest in Reno, NV. 

I went to school at Washburn and my thoughts and numbers are pretty thin in Topeka.

Eastpointe has a semi-decent school district, and the area overall is seeing a population growth.

I've been a real estate investor my entire life, doing my first deal as a senior in high school ($5,000 mobile home).

The rental market is already showing signs of recovery:Spring Is Coming: Historically, the rental market picks up momentum in the spring as tenants prepare to move during warmer months or ahead of the school year.Early 2025 Trends Are Positive: In just the first week of January, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in rental applications, suggesting pent-up demand from renters who delayed their searches in November and December.What Landlords Can Do NowTo make the most of this recovery, consider:Refreshing Your Listings: Update your photos, descriptions, and pricing to ensure your properties stand out.Offering Incentives: Temporary discounts or move-in bonuses can help fill vacancies quickly.Being Patient: The market is already bouncing back, so don’t panic if your property takes a bit longer to lease than usual.What’s been your experience?

I've heard horror stories that it's usually impossible due to the "burden placed on the municipality" but could really never understand what that burden was... most people living in those units wouldn't be using the school systems so aside from maybe an increased volume in emergency medical situations I can not understand that statement? 

And it's not only the homes, you also have to fortify your grocery stores, schools and anything else.

.: We just this week bought a 6 unit building in a top notch suburban school system for $615,000 with gross rents of $4615, but to make the deal cashflow (barely), had to raise the gross monthly rents to $6570 on 4/1.

BP has built a great selection, all of them worth reading and that will help you build foundational knowledge.To answer this one: the words from old school investor Dolf De Roos "seldom sell" and you will find a lot of post on BP from people who regret selling properties in the past.

As you've mentioned, great schools, area in general is nice and it's centrally located.