My wife and I decided to move to our land in South Texas and I was able to observe the problem up close and came to embrace the vision of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

If they do not qualify because of poor credit or income issues compared to being self employed etc there are differences - but typically people don’t qualify due to poor credit and people will seller finance to these borrowers thinking they woke up at a holiday inn and got a finance degree when in reality they repeat their past mistakesRemember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result

The Rental Owners Association of Lane County has a membership of over 1,300+ rental owners, representing over 20,000 rental units(from single family to multi-story complexes). 

And here in PA, the new buying/renting season starts the first day the temp hits 60 degrees, sometime in FEB or MAR. 

My best appreciating properties have appreciated over $10k/month over the hold period.the best investors evaluate the risk associated with return.  

Take a look a look at the RPAWi. org, which is our local non-profit landlord association located in Milwaukee.

No real barriers associated with buying "under value" sub $250K houses.

Rental properties dont just take care of themselves your going to have costs associated with ownership as Greg Pointed out..

He and I are members of the local REI (ORREIA: Oregon Real Estate Investors Association). 

Looks like Tim and Ezekiel have provided a bunch already...What are costs associated with snow/harsh winters?