The big pro that sticks out to me in Birmingham is the tax rate. 

For example, in my state PA there is an inheritance tax and many TAX auction properties originate from people passing away and the heir(s) not taking control over the estate and paying those property taxes.

Property taxes creep up, exterior repairs , and a brand new HVAC last year wiped out $11k of reserves.

She's been on the Tax Panel at BPCon with me for the past few years.

(Loan paydown, tax savings, etc etc..).

Unless there is a reason to submit your tax returns, you could go w2-only. 

For instance, Berea is a charming college town, but the combination of local taxes and less favorable price-to-rent ratios makes it less appealing for investment compared to other areas in the state.Agree here! 

There are tons of other metrics to consider such as rental rate, job demand, growth, path of progress, taxes, schools, crime, and on and on.

The problem is that we need to be careful with the word "passive" because it has a very specific meaning in the tax law, and it is not intuitive.For example, losses from rental properties are usually passive but not always, there are some exceptions.

Everytime you get close to depreciation running out (or want more) you 1031, expand your holdings, and your tax write off.