However, I'm unsure of the specific areas within these states to target.

BUDGET crushed from the start.

To start your journey, I recommend focusing on building your network by joining meetups and engaging in online forums, while narrowing down your first investment based on your budget, market, and goals.

So it looks like we are already over Our expected budget and approximately 75% done in guessing. 

@Joshua Patterson nice intro, but what specifically do you need our assistance with?

That property looks fantastic actually, I think sorting out the budget would be our biggest challenge.

It is hard to really keep up with those kinds of trends unless I budget 10k a year in updating the property which I am not going to do.I participate in our local council/mayor meetings.

Where specifically in this area you are looking to invest? 

With $50K and a DSCR loan, your budget will likely cap at properties in the $150K-$170K range, depending on the closing costs and any repairs needed.

The reason I ask is if you're starting a "non-real estate" business, I'd recommend NOT using that business to buy any properties but use a real estate specific LLC to acquire your properties.