Hopefully someone has seen a similar scenario previously.I am a Green Card (Legal Permanent Resident / LPR) holder in the US, but currently living and working abroad (temporarily - will return to the US in a few years).

Currently living in NY (temporarily) but I'd like to invest out of market, which I know is probably not recommended for beginners, but I'm open to it.

I've thought of asking if one of the tenants would be interested in moving there temporarily while we renovate his unit, but he has been there for ten years and pays far below market rents, so we are better off just occupying and then renting the renovated unit out for what it's worth for now.We have good tenants, so for me, it's better to just wait it out and rehab it over time.

That simply wouldn't be viable between NYC and Pittburgh, unless I temporarily moved out there. 

You have a good salary from your job, you should be able to pay that down aggressively, aggressively curtail spending even if just temporarily.  

Sometimes you can catch those who are working in the area temporarily or who are waiting for a home to be built etc.  

I plan to hold them for around 8-10 years and sell before the local oil market weakens.

Garfield Heights is one city that has a POS, but they have temporarily eliminated the escrow requirement to spark activity in their city, which has taken a beating with respect to home prices.Some other cities that don't have POS:  Lyndhurst, Richmond Heights, Parma, Parma Heights. 

This is an intersting topic; if you listen to some, they would have you believe that the sky is falling. http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2006/08/30/irrational-exuberance-the-real-estate-bubble-and-the-weakening-of-the-us-economy/EDIT: Actually, I have to credit Wheatie with this link from another thread.

We will use them temporarily for contractors but not long term.