This was obviously a bit of a gamble because the house had to appraise above a certain figure in effort to remove the PMI but we chose to do it anyway because the rate reduction in and of itself was worth the cost/effort of the refi.

You may also want to consider across the border (connecticut) where landlord tenant laws are a bit more on the landlord's side, and lead laws are less intense.

You will not have to deal with cross border issues if you invest in Canadian real estate.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-may-real-estate-1.5562836

I understand the broader demographics of these markets but still very much in the early phases of delving deeper though I must say Cleveland has definitely shown some early appeal.Other Costs - I'm just looking for a general idea of what to expect on this front of things, things such as land tax (if the US has it), Stamp Duty (again if it exists), insurances (required/desired), management fees (I want a property manager in place due to time zones/distance/peace of mind), etc, etc.Finding a Team - This is one of the harder parts, I'm not averse to a trip to America for some research later in the year (if Australia ever opens its damn borders again!)

@Michael DeRienzo  I would buy a 3 to 4 unit in NH on the MA border with a FHA 203k loan. 

Appreciation potential is gambling as far as I'm concerned.

I host a quarterly investor luncheon at Big Springs with Harry Borders and SurePoint Equity.

It's too much of a gamble for us not to take it and keep it separate in case of need. 

I’m not so risk adverse that I don’t want to buy something in the next 12 months, but I don’t want to gamble it all away by being over leveraged.

I live in SC (close to the NC border) and would prefer someone local, but definitely open to a remote resource as well.