I'm working on getting my first piece of property and am now looking in Buffalo, NY which is ~6 hour drive from where I live.

For a residential (1-4 unit) deal, a "buy and hold" duplex for me (without driving value via renovations/BRRRR'ing) would be CoC between 8-12% and/or about $250 per door.

Pete in an older/rougher neighborhood, but very close to downtown(less than 5min drive) or a little bit nicer of a neighborhood, but further away(15-20min drive)?

I learned mine by driving around, looking up a bunch of properties online and looking at a bunch in person, listening to everything people said at the meetups and asking a ton of questions to local investors.If you have the money, her course is a bit of a shortcut to learn what you need to know, but it by no means is everything you need to flip in a local market.

Is the war zone creeping towards the property or are the good guys driving it back and the area is gradually getting safer?

The market will drive commissions.

If buying now aligns with your long-term financial goals and property needs, it might be worth moving forward rather than waiting.Impact on Property Prices: Lower interest rates can boost demand for properties, which might drive up prices.

With an average of 92 days on the market for listed homes, we needed to craft a thoughtful design that would match the build of the home, and drive top dollar in the market with as few days active as possible Upon completion, this home received multiple offers in the first week of listing the property for sale and went under contract just 9 days after listing!

If it’s conforming or non-conforming, then you’re safe. 

I think we are at the point, where labor costs are actually going down as most of the labor relies on big national builder's for their work, and with home sales slowing down, we are seeing labor rates competing for work, which is driving down the costs.