Tuscaloosa is particularly interesting—it’s a growing college town that’s home to the University of Alabama’s flagship campus.

If you plan to grow your portfolio, consider setting up separate LLCs for each property to shield them from liabilities tied to others, though this adds complexity and costs. 

As you start closing deals, you will need to reinvest your profits into mailing lists and other scalable activities to grow your business.

Depending on the actual age of the property, at least some level of deferred maintenance is not uncommon.

However, some investors don't mind this strategy if they prefer not to put a lot of liquid in up front and plan to refi out within a few years of closing (which seems to be a great option with the talks of the FED reducing interest rates this year).It really comes down to investing in a growing market, in a good neighborhood & building a great team to support you.

The couple living there was elderly when I was growing up, and we recently found out that they passed away a couple years ago.

All of these are posted on our local real estate facebook groups.In any of these events, you will meet like minded entrepreneurs who are also looking to grow. 

My current asset allocation based on age and risk tolerance not counting my primary residence is 70% stocks, 20% RE, 10% cash/bond type vehicles. 

, status of major building components (roof, HVAC, structural, electrical, plumbing), accounts receivable aging (are all tenants paying or is the $20,500 schedule rent?)

Look for some of those to go in as an LP (limited partner) and learn and grow your knowledge, skills and investment money so you'll be ready for the next accredited deal.