I'm playing the same game - Roth SDIRA, although I'll prob start purchasing through an entity as well in the near future.

You can play with pricing to see how it affects demand, so you have a better idea of the quality of prospects and how many you get at different price points.You could also then modify your ad to identify a target MoveIn date and start accepting & processing applications.

Local laws definitely come into play as well

While I am not a fan of log homes or all wood interiors, that style still plays well here in the rental market. 

Take advantage of every service as well as play golf.

Location plays a major role in decision making.

i'm playing around with the numbers at the moment for how much i should be putting down for a down payment

There is variance in markets but I believe most markets are like my market with 2 primary plays 1) patience.  

Hey mate,Thick skin is needed on this forum and in business in general 🤷‍♂️I just posted something similar on another thread and the best advice I can give is spending enough time finding the right people on the ground before looking at the prospect of a market or a deal.Especially when doing BRRR out of state which is a very tough gig IMO.You can find the best market, with the best growth potential, find the best deal with the best cashflow but if your realtor isn't genuine, your property manager is incompetent and your contractor is a cheat.You will loose money.Also, underestimate your income and overestimate your expenses on every deal and business opportunity.If you think it won't happen to you, I can tell you right now that it unfortunately will...I've completed hundreds of flips and rarely come in at budget from a rehab standpoint.So keep that in mind.Appraisers are a joke and easily manipulated.They follow weird data and many want to cap you intentionally (No idea why...) on the ARV.They play it safe and can see how much you paid and what you spent on rehab so they will cap the value and come in under fair value on many appraisals.I stopped dealing with selling to investors looking to finance many moons ago as it wasn't efficient from a business perspective and I'm not in the business of using "in-house" lenders and manipulating appraisals like many others do. 

Most likely one dominates while the other plays 2nd fiddle.