Are travel nurses who work odd hours going to feel safe in this area, since you say it's somewhat sketchy? 

We love travel (especially to warm destinations to escape Canada's cold winters).Excited to learn and connect with you all!

I speak fluent spanish and have traveled widely in Latin America.

We find that most travelers are looking for something easy and want one price and payment that includes rent, utilities, parking, etc. all in one.

People are doing it, so presumably it works.FWIW, I invested in Japan for a few years, but lack of rent growth, lack of appreciation, concerns about natural disasters, and just general lack of confidence in the J market led me to shift focus only to the US.

Protect yourself with that criteria If you are in a stable market and are confident your house will rent soon, maybe now is the time you will consider whether you are going to accept felons and the rules around that.

The population has been growing here year over year over the last decade, it is home to The Ohio State University which has over 50,000 students that live here along with those that visit, and it also holds a diverse range of young professionals and traveling nurses to fill the demand of the multiple business corporations and hospitals stationed here.

You would need to be in a location where there are traveling workers.

As for the land, with some looking around and a possible off market deal, with time I’m confident I could find an R2 lot for relatively cheap compared to the build.

Bartending is the only place where I can make $30-50 an hour at the moment.Luckily I do share this house with my sisters and their husbands, so if an FHA purchase and living in a house for a couple years is the only way, I may be able to swing that.I'm fairly handy and have done many of my own repairs to this house over the years, so I'm fairly confident in my ability to be able to handle a slight fixer upper.