That is the most hands off, most diverse application of a given capital amount.

Wherever you invest make sure it has diversity and a growing population.Where you might be making repairs talk to building officials (like inspector) or the Chamber of Commerce to get a feel of what they look for and how does the future look in your area.Your business has taught you some of what you will done.  

When things go bust for the major employer, the whole town gets decimated.Picking diverse markets for REI is similar to stock market diversification; it spreads the risk.Must you always have your secondary market out-of-state? 

And that's a balance and risk level that needs to be understood before venturing into such a deal.Plus you may want to consider the diversity of your investment.

Houstons area has survived because they are more diverse now but they are starting lol suffering a little bit because of the shape of the oil business.  

Its economy is so diverse it has survived that pretty well.  

Glad you have found the podcasts, as they are very informative and offer such diverse viewpoints and strategies on multiple real estate investing avenues.  

It actually works quite well in larger subdivisions with uniform housing stock, the opposite is true in rural areas or homes that are a little different than the comps or areas where the housing stock is very diverse.

Greg Fuente , I started out in a similar fashion focusing on SFRs but that is hard to scale.Lately, I have been investing in large apt complexes in diverse markets across the country for diversification.Since you are or will be an accredited investor, more options will be available.

But I see that large mortgage as limiting to my investment diversity to one major asset.