A lot of people spend their time doing this, but it's not a good use of time because it can not teach you anything relevant without seeing each one in person.

If it's a massive budget, lenders may peak in a bit more, but definitely doable. 

I would spend time building your list of WHO (agent, mentor, contractor/handyman), then WHAT (house type, tenant base, work needed), then WHERE (location).

Always ask tenants to check to make sure it is locked.Another disadvantage is that you have to change the batteries regularly.Another disadvantage is you have to spend quite some time programming the locks and tracking the code3.

It might be helpful to narrow down your options by focusing and researching for markets with strong rental demand, growing job markets, and property prices that fit within your budget.

I'm going to reiterate what's already been mentioned above, but I'm going to actually give you examples of why it's relevant to you to find a U.S. tax professional.1 - You're going to need to file U.S. taxes once you have property down here, there's federal filings, state filings, and sometimes local filings too2 - Tons of tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada that are easy to miss and can cost you a lot of money (important one with rentals - effectively connected income - if the professional you talk to doesn't know what this is, run away)3 - The amount of days you spend in the U.S. needs to be tracked and if you go over a threshold, all of your worldwide income could be taxable by the U.S.4 - Selling real property means up to 15% of your sales proceeds might not be available to you for years (FIRPTA)5 - Lots of nuance at the state and local levels, which both want to take as much money from you as possibleMain takeaway here is that you should find a U.S. based tax person.

We are in a constricted market cycle, low volume, strained budgets, high costs.

@Zachary Young,Given your $300,000 budget, you have a good number of options—you certainly don’t have to be constrained to Cleveland, if that’s not where you want to start out.

My goal is to have financial freedom so I can eventually quit my 9-5 job and use my time to spend with family and do things that excite me.

@Justin Landesman's comments are critical about not funding without being on title and/or having a written contract about the distribution of profits.How much do you think the rehab budget is?