As an aspiring out-of-state real estate investor located on Long Island, NY, I have been doing some in-depth market research to identify several healthy investor-friendly markets to begin exploring.

Did I mention my fiancé is senior commercial lender at The Cecilian Bank which is the areas largest community bank. 

Fayetteville has a large military rental market considering it is home to of one of the largest military base in the US.

Very close to the 3 largest employers in the city.

I am convinced there is money to be made but I live on Long Island and I haven't been able to get even 1 property's numbers to "work".

Hi, I was waiting for a good price on several properties on big island in Kona area.

You probably don't do your own legal, accounting, plumbing, etc. so why on maybe the largest transactions of your life ever try to do it yourself. 

You may be able to avoid a vacancy which will be one of your largest costs if you raise rents and displace your tenants.Your tenants can apply for Section 8. 

I currently live in Rhode Island but I am very interested in the Detroit, Toledo and Indianapolis markets.

I wrote a BiggerPockets blog post on how to find comps and calculate the ARV of a potential deal: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/68395-how-to-find-real-estate-comps-and-calculate-after-repair-valueHappy to answer any questions about that blog post or the process in general.As far as finding potential deals, those are slim on the MLS and you'll get the largest spread for your buyers by looking off-market.