I'm saying this carefully because obviously deals can be found anywhere, they just don't seem prevalent compared to places like Kansas City MO, Harrisburg PA, etc... additionally, finding properties that will rent using the 1% rule don't to be very common either.However, you did mention something that is also the root of my concerns doing this remotely and that many of these are higher in crime and likely have less reliable tenants. 

Note: I currently live in D.C. with roots in Pittsburgh, PA.

It’s taken me a long time to get here and I don’t want to mess this up.I realize I have a lot of goals here that don’t seem to intertwine, and are a little all over the place.Any advice you can give me on a course of action or recommended places where I could put down roots would be much appreciated as I don’t have someone to bounce these ideas off of.

Hey everyone! This looks like an awesome community! Just to start things off, I have no formal background in Real Estate, but I have a great interest in rental properties. Originally from Georgia. I have undergraduate...

I am rooted in my personal reasons to have this goal and am SO excited to see things through.

The major concerns where I feel we have leverage are 1) the roof needs replacing-there is wind damage 2) there is a slope towards the house which needs correcting (we think this can be fixed with a French drain) and 3) there is a giant tree right by the house with roots visible to the slab. 

You answered because its a comparable which didn't make sense to me so I asked a follow-up question trying to get to the root of why the builder needs to lower the asking price.  

I just moved back out east from Toronto this past summer (August, 2021) with the intention of putting down some roots!

After writing this, I think I'm rooting for the bank to tell you "no."

I was born in Birmingham and still have roots there...mostly on the western side...Central Park, Fairfield, Midfield.