As a Banker my advice is to always have several conversations prior to and be very transparent with your Banker or Loan officer.You can use real estate to position yourself into a better or bigger home buts is like chess there are rules and you have to know in advance your next few moves. 

Building your core-4 will also be fundamental to investing out-of-state, I'd recommend reading this article by David Greene: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/core-four-real-estate-tea...The Midwest markets present some good opportunities for investors with cheaper price points, lower taxes and a lot of them being landlord-friendly as well.

For both short- and mid-term investors, the market's diversity and relatively lower entry costs make it an attractive option.FYI - Philadelphia has a tenant-friendly legal environment, which can present certain challenges for landlords

Some are very investor friendly. 

If you are interested add me as a friend on here and we can connect.

These are some options that I am considering. 1) Getting an LLC and a Joint Venture agreement to partner with a long time friend of mine but somehow separate our business from our individual marriages?

Rather than looking at "good" areas, I'd ask you what cities/metro areas you like to visit or where you already have family or friends that live there.

Being out of state, I will also be seeking an investor friendly agent and also a great property manager. 

The high taxes are problematic but Texas is far more landlord and business-friendly than CA, NY and most other states.

Additionally, the landlord laws here are more investor-friendly.