I think the "sweet spot" is going to be getting in early, right as the "pain" is first being released and as all the big $ starts doing acquisitions. 

I think @Jonathan Greene evaluating both is spot on.

Somebody said on here that an out of state investment is not so much an investment in property as it is in a group of people and that’s spot on. 

It sounds like you and your wife are in a tough spot. 

Definitely a great spot to have a multi unit these days!

Sherman and Denison are hot spots for sure.

As a good son, I would spot check the property managers' projections by doing my own research on VRBO/Airbnb/AirDNA to see what I think similar rentals are doing. 

I’m especially interested in spots with strong short-term rental (STR) demand, where the laws are favorable to investors.I have around $250,000 USD to put down as a deposit, and I plan to finance the rest through a mortgage.

If you haven't already, look into insurance relocations. 3/2s and above are the sweet spot if the property itself is really nice and in a good neighborhood.

On a smaller building this might be a bit tight, but as the buildings scale up I find that this metric is a good spot to be.