@Bruce Woodruff You’ve captured the unpredictable nature of real estate perfectly!

@Tyler Bushey nice try, those of us with oil are often a mile or miles from natural gas and propane is $$$ and even if you had gas if  you have one boiler it doesn't solve the problem. 

However, I have no idea how to choose from the remaining cities, it seems there are a lot of potential options:- Midwest - Michigan (ie: Grand Rapids) seems to have options, also seeing Columbus Ohio and Indianapolis coming up- Reno - I've seen mentioned several times on here- Pittsburgh / Philadelphia / Twin Cities - All mentioned as lower cost to get started, and seem to be experiencing growthI'd ideally like to find a place that has strong potential for future growth, a diversified economy, and I don't mind living in (being close to nature would be a plus). 

its just human nature and reality..

Most likely the state where the property is located is where lawsuits would be brought if they are something for personal injury like a trip and fall or something of that nature because the “cause of action” arose in that state.

And they will be scrappy by nature and certainly don't have that kind of downpayment laying around.Second, obviously is price.

My bet on the next twist is the death turning out not to be natural causes.

This means 20-25% for a down payment, and it has to be your money that you're using (verifiably in an account that belongs to you).Though there are programs that lend up to 90/100 to first-time investors, those programs usually don't work in Maine due to the rural nature.

I am introverted by nature. 

Then when you have some sort of portfolio and your face and name goes around, you naturally will attract people who will want to work with you.