Maybe the landlord works a normal job on top of landlording or otherwise has a lot going on.  

If you do decide to go out of state I'd suggest a market you can travel to and from in one day by car or flight at least to start.

Want to make sure there's plenty of room for parking, as about half your tenants will bring cars. 

It amazes me the nice cars, clothes, and general stuff that my renters have compared to what I own. 

Where rates are currently are normal rates over the last 100 years or so.

Also lots of sellers have locked in <4% rates and don't want to buy at 7% new investors who dont have low rates will just deal with the new normal or historic rates.

We carry no balances and have no car payments and only one mortgage..

I'm thinking lots in Mexico are probably normally cash buys, so if you can solve that obstacle for someone, you broaden your buyer pool. 

The ability to find a good sales price under $200K with low taxes and affordable insurance is getting harder to find but in Oh & IN its still easy.Inventory is strong and the rents are above normal so even though your under $200K you can still earn a good profit.

Their pursuit of cash flow normally leads them to the worst of the worst neighborhoods where the spreadsheets never capture the accurate operating expenses and no consideration for neighborhood fundamentals is part of their analysis.