I’ve also considered cash out of state multi-family but doing multiple into one 1031 exchange on my first time sounds risky and stressful.Mostly I like the idea of selling a house here, 1031, then a cash purchase in the midwest/south etc (Then if successful, repeat).

Not sure where you’re located but I’m in South Elgin, IL and would be down to connect! 

And I like to think I helped you not make a HUGE mistake by investing in South Jackson MS which is simply unsustainable for OOS investors 90% of the time regardless of contractors.

I am in South Houston and looking for rentals and flips south side around La Porte all the way down to Texas City and Alvin.

B+ is mostOf the suburbs around the city, pockets of south Buffalo like Caz park, some of the West side bordering the Elmwood village and some of North Buffalo.

Smaller renovated Lakewood two families (less than 2000 sq ft) can be bought under $200K (sometimes under $175K) but rents potential much lower (e g $900 vs $1200 a unit)Clifton Edgewater (west of West Blvd, north of Detroit) and Kamms (area just south of Lakewood) along with Lakewood have always been strong areas and are priced at/near Lakewood (and to some extent share the same tenant base).  

Its 2 miles from the beach and just 20mins south of downtown and close to 5 navy bases.

That said, Kensington (north of Lehigh) is another world that I dont touch even though I have a property just south of lehigh in east Kensington (still some zombies) but has stayed rented with great tenants and no vacancy for 5 years.  

On the other hand, an SFR might offer more stability with less intensive management.If cash flow is your primary goal and Phoenix isn’t making the cut, you might want to explore cash flow-heavy markets in the Midwest or the South.

I live in south eastern Wisconsin (Kenosha) which is on the boarder located about an hour from both Milwaukee and Chicago.