@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. 

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

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). 

Nature campaigns, direct mail, text services, accounting, etc all in one place. 

The subtract off selling costs which will get you to near what you paid for the property (which will net you a small amount after paying off the loan and the missed payments).Before investing in next RE 1) get you finances in order 2) build up adequate reserves 3) learn to analyze the numbers better.  

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.

its just human nature and reality..

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. 

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