Check out local job stats and major employers.Population Trends: Areas with growing populations often see rising property values.

It’s great that you’ve already started practicing with NOI and cap rates for evaluating properties, but you're right that smaller properties, like quadplexes or less, are often valued differently.For residential properties with four units or fewer, the market tends to focus more on comparable sales in the area rather than purely relying on income calculations like cap rate.

So if you have to go remote (because you live in one of those markets) spend some time in your target city, plan on being there often, video call the contractors every day.

Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

For future reference, the agencies will often adjust LTV/DCR by -5% LTV / -.05x DCR for loans involving new agency borrowers with minimal experience / like size AUM / etc. 

I rationalize by saying ''welp not the right kind of tenant'' but in reality if I get 50-75 dms only half that fill out the google form.

I think these additional details would be even more helpful for aspiring investors - as financing the deal is often where people get stuck.

The Midwest is of particular interest to us specifically because we are there often. 

If you're looking at this from a distance, connecting with a local property manager could give you a clearer picture of what to expect in terms of tenant demand and property management challenges.Let me know if you need any more info or want to chat further about this.I hope that helps

Seems like a no brainer, but I don't hear it talked about very often.