Private money may be better. 

We are also wondering whether it would be better to try and find something located closer to Nashville within 5-15 minutes that may not be as nice of a home or property for our budget or find something that is around 20-30 minutes from Nashville in the White House Tn area, but a nicer home within our budget.

While I’ve seen QuickBooks mentioned in forums, it tends to be more expensive and seems better suited for larger portfolios.

If you want better cash flow, 35805, 35810, 35816, and 35811 are likely the choices. 

I suspect there's lots of inventory, particularly for new folks coming into the area that find the real estate prices are much better than where they came from.Do you have a type of house you like to target?

I'm now thinking that better areas/properties make more sense because they'd likely appreciate faster (which amplifies the return) and attract better/more stable tenants. 

The advantages is that you can buy with low money down and will get a better interest rate.

You are likely in a better financial position on account of that. 

I definitely think that if a person is local they have a better chance of making money there.  

Many of those locations I can purchase using leverage and achieve better returns.