I'd try to steer you toward secondary markets in Texas (think Belton/Temple, Waco, Bryan/College Station, San Marcos, New Braunfels, etc.) over going to cheap markets in the Midwest.

What you need is a good property manager who is very familiar with the area, to steer you away from the war zones.

That will probably steer you in a direction 🙂

And the tenants are generally very pleasant to work with.When I worked for a construction equipment manufacturer, we designed a brand new line of skid steer loaders and what we found was that all the profit came from the large machines.

There are plenty of investors on BP that can steer you in the right direction.

However, I'd advise steering clear of Harris County, particularly in Houston, due to the excessively high taxes.

A few things to think about if you live very close to that small town 15-20 mins or less that would be a plus...if its a long drive and your doing a lot of the work then I would likely steer away. 

I was steered towards Columbus OH by an agent I met here on BP.

Here's a mix of steps and strategies that might help steer you through these choppy waters:Documentation Is Your Best Friend: Make sure you've got a solid paper trail of all interactions, notices, and agreements related to rent payments.

These criterion tend to steer investors to low barrier neighborhoods.