My bet is the one that rents for $1k will have the higher cap ex/maintenance.Now 2 houses one is 5/3 inland 3000’ with a big yard in nice class b area with a good tenant that rents for $4.5k/month.  

These guys built a Section 8 empire in Philadelphia and have encountered the very same problems you described and offer solutions.

It's worth it, though, because cold calling has proven empirical evidence to work in many industries and I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. 

HI Jared,Some random thoughts on this.Houghton Lake in Michigan is it's largest inland lake at 20,000+ acres.It is a beach lake and a sport boat lake as well as a fishing lake.It is a vacation destination.It sisters up to Higgins Lake which is considered by many as a good fishing lake at about 10,000 acres.To me 50 acres seem like a pond.What do the vacationers think of the two lakes, are they equal in desire for the same reasons?

I'm in Land O Lakes and I agree with your analysis of the area.

We're seeing that a lot of coastal markets are getting higher insurance costs than in-land given the devastation on the coasts recently.

On the flip side, academic and empirical research has shown day-trading or playing the market without a definable and repeatable competitive advantage (ie “an edge”) is going to result in long term losses.

You might even consider the Inland Empire for rentals, it has a much lower price point than Long Beach and most other places in Southern California

I'm also interested in land acquisition for future residential & commercial new construction developments.I'm excited to delve more into real estate as it really shapes many aspects of life.

It is Empire Industries in Houston.