That is a great post, and I'd love to follow up and see how things went for my own personal knowledge. 

This is dependent on your personal situation and strategy.

Typically someone who was communicative turns distant, unresponsive, blows you off when you're trying to talk to them in person, and the tall tale sign of boxes in the hallway.

My recommendation would be to engage an investment property focused realtor (not a general residential realtor) and let that person guide you through the process from pre-qualification to market/property valuation and selection. 

When the deadline approaches you need a person to push it through in time. 

You must report rental income on Schedule E and can deduct rental expenses like repairs, maintenance, property taxes, mortgage interest (allocated between personal and rental use), and depreciation for the rented portion.

My personal preference for a buy and hold would be an already established area (or an area that's still gentrifying, but has already seen significant progress). 

Providing for the disposition of certain personal property following an eviction.

There are legal requirements for disposing personal property left behind by a tenant.

I personally have success in doing flips with my partner here in Ohio.Lakewood and Edgewater are gentrifying neighborhoods in Cleveland.