I just don't think you're going to get meaningful returns on some random property thousands of miles away that is going to help you build momentum in any way.  

Right now, all you are doing is book research or online research, so you need to put these random thoughts into the real world.

@Brandon ClarkI am very sympathetic to CA investors wanting to invest in lower cost markets... but just to be very direct with you: -OOS is a LOT more challenging than advertised; and-50K is not a lot to start with.I genuinely think you will be more successful in a higher cost market that you can spend time in, rather than a random ,"lower cost" market thousands of miles away where you find something that looks nice on Zillow, spend your entire $50K on it... and then it needs a big rehab you weren't aware of, and you're negative $27K in year 1. 

In July of 2007 I got randomly shot at while driving by on Sw 6th St.

But still trying to conceptualize how to incorporate ongoing expenses/interest payments and loan paydown into that equation to get a more holisitic image before deciding where to live

These are good questions for a CPA, not random internet people.

The tenant's assistance check is randomly short and my PM has to hassle their case manager to get it fixed. 

Maybe try visiting and showing your face so you're not just a random OOS investor if you feel they're taking advantage of that.

We just see over and over that folks in the forums in CA or other HCOL areas buy a random property in OH or AL or KS, hit a capex expense or two, and wonder where their "cash flow" went.If you are truly in it for the long term, spend some time in the market in person first - don't pick the first property on Zillow that looks nice and buy it.  

But you'll have to get creative to be competitive (no copy/paste ads and images).