I'll keep my eye open for pre-foreclosures and other depressed properties in the meantime.

Or just poor depressed market?

Get a long term perspective and don't let short term issues panic you.Last year I took a major hit in profits from vandalism on an eviction ($9.9k) and that was depressing. 

The very wealthy of SF used lake county for 75 years from the gold rush to about the great depression as the go to place.. there were resorts all over the lake and in the moutains ( the aforementioned mineral bath resorts) and many burnt down over the years.. in 1900 to 1930 ish through out CA and the WEst was the hey day of land developers platting wide swaths of CA and literally creating towns.. platted lots with no streets.. we see these today everywhere throughout the west.. 

We don't need to be living like the great depression era.

Given the very depressed market, I purchased a Gulf front condo and closed early 2010.

I always found that depressing.

- The area we purchased the property in is a bit depressed, but we are getting $875 per month and have a renter moved in and paying (on time, too!)

You can make money in rentals or lose you rear depending on the cycle of real estate (going up or down), ever increasing taxes (occurring strongly in Houston metro market), how deep of a discount you bought at, the quality of your tenant, the quality of your management (whether personal or professional), good or bad luck with vacancy and major repairs, getting flooded even when not in a flood zone, the neighborhood improving or depressing due to too many renters and/or crime, etc.I can tell you professionals and non-professionals alike will be more than happy to guide you into a "deal" whether it is in your best interest or not. 

And the more i learned the more upset and depressed i got about what i did.I gave my non-struggling non-elderly mid 40s parents my house which is now worth 400k and can rent out for $2200.