I recommend you do this annually to adjust for utility increases and other variables.

There are a lot of markets with solid job markets, strong populations, solid rent growth, but when you are talking ONE property, unless you are considering highly rural areas, it likely doesn't matter.  

Assuming you go the HELOC route, another option to reduce your costs assuming you have decent credit is to look at credit card balance transfer promotions.Back in 2003-2004 I had HELOCs on my investment properties and interest rates were increasing.

Do the schools have increasing or decreasing student enrollment?

There are still properties that can increase their rents, and may make for a good investment.  

In 2022 the rents increased 12.1% year over year which was the 3rd highest in the entire country per https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/02/14/cleveland-rent-prices.

This is verified based on the good schools, department stores opening up (Costco, Target etc.) as well as verified investment from Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys owner) and the city to grow the population.

And since you are licensed, you can potentially do some sales on the side to increase income and save up for investing.

Findlay is a real oppotunity beause you’ve got a combination of stable job sources, a decent population size, and often lower acquisition costs compared to bigger metros.About choosing an agent..

Go where the population is growing 5-10% per year (even though it is a small denominator) over chasing year 1 cash flow in a stagnant/declining market.