I'm not sure what the markets are like in Edinburgh or London, but I would look into house hacking in one of those cities once you know which one you'll be in.You definitely can invest in rentals in the US remotely, there are plenty of investors that do.

Detroit is a great city to invest in one just has to be aware that is is a block by block city and to be careful

However, I have had colleagues of mine do Section 8 housing in New York and have success with it. 

I am also a huge believer that with massive affordability issues in cities people will start to migrate to smaller towns that they can afford.

You also mentioned meters, do you have to separate meters, get approval from the city and pull permits?

I'm not counting those since I don't manage them, but I typically avoid cities and states with laws antagonistic to landlords.

I can't speak for the city itself / near the university, but up in areas like Liverpool properties are getting multiple bids regardless of the condition.

Let's say the city cites them for violations and they rack up penalties and fines. 

I'd look at that as well as the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance, which every Pa township, borough or city has, or if they don't have those docs, they are covered by the county codes.

Most cities don’t want a mobile home park in their city limits because the tenants take more money out of the tax system than they contribute.