Fact is the biggest hurdle will be your no money situation regardless of where you start. 

The biggest variable I see people screw up is estimating the OE.

My biggest suggestion is go for larger homes.

**mini footnote:  A wholesaller is similar to a Real Estate agent, but without the fees & deals worked are always off market, exclusive deals.It was extremely competitive and very exciting and I learned a whole lot.One of the challenges with the market in Madison County is that there are many many deep pockets not only in the area but also those that have trickled down from Middle Tennessee not to mention investors from throughout the worldthat are looking invest in real estate just like you.A lot of my Nashville Buyers have been asking about purchasing deals in Madison county for years.Real estate agents that I have worked with in the area say that there is zero inventory and if something comes available, the buyer has to be 100% ready otherwise someone else will get the deal.That being said, I personally think that there is a lot of potential in untapped areas of Madison County.One of the biggest differences between Nashvilles market in Huntsville‘s is that there hasn’t been anyone that has been brave enough to build/Rehab/re-vamp areas that are undesirable i.e. north side.

The biggest part for us was to outline the exit strategy options for both partners.

The main point is to find distressed properties to get the biggest discount possible.

And once they know you, very little paperwork.The downside is that the terms are not as good, usually 20 year ammort with a 5 year term for me.

Cosmetic upgrades will have the biggest impact on value for appraisal purposes, assuming the existing mechanicals are functioning well.I would say look at some homes that have sold for 115k - 120k and see what kinds of upgrades they had. 

I can see some benefit but also some downsides to it as well. 

The downside is added work, increased taxes probably.