He is a trusted associate, and I am merely a tax professional you never met.

Taxes have to be paid, so does insurance, what about maintenance? 

@Rory DarcyRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

@Apryl Skahill To get your risk-averse spouse on board with real estate investing, start by educating him with beginner-friendly resources that highlight the long-term stability, cash flow potential, and tax benefits of real estate, such as depreciation deductions and offsetting W-2 income.

Wanted to still be close to family but maintain a cheaper lifestyle, still have strong appreciation, and much better tenant/landlord laws, taxes, etc. 

Getting a DSCR of 1 in some of the higher tax counties of Georgia is tight, but we've been able to get through them.

Another wildcard is that the tax office opened in The UAE a year ago.

On average, you will spend 10% of your income on maintenance per year.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Whichever loan that you decide to use, the interest will be tax deductible due to interest tracing rules.