They visited Waco on the Magnolia tour idea and saw the houses, saw the prices and wished they could have moved there and just commuted maybe 1 or 2x a month for the office meeting.   90min drive every day would have been killer, but a couple of times a month they thought wasn't bad.

We love visiting with people about the product and Northpointe makes it easy to originate.

yeah, quick way to assure the rest of world hates you for sure.

This was exactly the assurance I needed.

With government backed rentals, we are assured not to have our payments disrupted by shutdowns, offsetting any loses during that time.

Despite all that, I did visit a couple of nice neighborhoods (not many) and if the properties you're looking at happen to be in one of those, you're at a much better spot than what I have described above. 

You usually need to lock up the deal and get a lot of those things done during the process.Buying near your son's college would be a great idea if you plan on having him house hack there and manage or learn or use one unit as short-term or mid-term for when you visit. 

You definitely need to visit the area to get an understanding.

I found the job order from a pest control visit this year.

If you're unable to visit the area, video walkthroughs and detailed photo documentation are essential.