All too typical park owner who took all the profit out of the park without reinvesting in the business then wants to sell you the potential he was too cheap to invest in. 

Cheap properties look good on paper but rarely perform as well as more expensive properties.

Of course this may not be cheap, but it’s very effective.

Look at quality properties (not something that is cheap and looks good on paper). 

LTRs with long term conventional financing and standard management aren't really cash flowing anywhere right now. sure, there are lower cost markets that look better on paper, but there are costs associated with those supposedly cheap markets as well - deferred maintenance, more challenging tenant base, higher cost turnovers as a percentage of the rent.2. i wouldn't pick a random market thousands of miles away based solely on statistics or numbers. 

I had to live in the property due to the FHA occupancy rules, so I had about an hour and 15 minute commute to work every day.I settled on Tilton (small town in central NH) because the property was right and it cash flowed very well, and was quite cheap (at the time... 240k), I could get the loan to get into the building and own 4 units.

Cheap housing only reduces the cost of other cheap housing. 

On paper the cheap houses look great, but the reality is they are harder to manage, have higher turn over and cost a lot more time and money.Buying before you retire is a good idea because once you retire, your ability to borrow money is going to decrease as you don't have a regular income from a job.As you want to fix houses up, why not buy a house that needs a bit of work, live in it while doing the renos and then move when you sell it. 

I did a lot of cheap and cheerful Reno work on commercial spaces.  

And up-front costs to deliver quality are not cheap.