(Your income will be $10k higher if you self manage, but as I mentioned before, you earn that $10k by acting as your own PM. 

I've heard people mention Rochester, NY and Cleveland, OH.

prices are high, interest rates are high, there is tremendous demand for inventory, and - one thing that doesn't get mentioned enough - a record number of properties are debt free. 

Normally, we would say no and wait until the end of the lease but due to the situation and hardships we would inspect for pets and pet damages.

You mentioned you haven't purchased an investment property before or been involved with seller financing transactions.

@Jerry Velezstrongly recommend against doing this.start with a house hack instead.make it your mission to house hack.did i mention house hacking? 

As someone else mentioned, insurance here is generally less costly than in Florida and other beach markets. 

Maybe wait until you are both without W2?

And I've been waiting to put him on blast in BP and tell my story for a while.  

To do this, they have a team consisting of an inspector, a makelaar, and renovation professionals.However, as Ken M. mentioned, having someone trustworthy there to manage everything would also be a key factor.