We source from suppliers that get them directly from the ships - these are normally near port cities (ours is located in Houston, TX).

Now if your thinking location jumps out as a big factor to all this, you hit the nail on the head, location location LOCATION. 

I’m open to exploring those locations since they aren’t too far of a drive.I’m leaning towards a SF property because I have $10,000 to put down, want to stay within my budget, and being new to this, I’d like to start small.

There are more factors than just the community (#beds, level of theming, location to the amenities, style of home (single family, townhome, condo) and others) But I would strongly advise to stay within some of the same communities you mentioned like Storey Lake, Windsor Hills, Championsgate and a few others if cash flow is your goal.

District South has a priceless location that backs up directly to the famous Nickel Plate Trail."

I love New England and I’m from the Cary/raleigh area of NC so those are my top locations.

Seeing as they are $45-80k properties, we know they are not in good locations which means you should pad your budget more and expect expenses to be higher than normal. 

Personally I like the Section 8 program when the property is located in a super poor area with a ton of blight and crime.

Also, for those who invest OOS, do you find one market you specialize in or do you tend to bounce around and cherry pick from markets in several locations? 

Essentially, the Finish Schedule is a spreadsheet that contains all of the product links, SKU numbers, quantities needed, and installation locations for every single piece of material that goes into your project.