If you check out the Windsor crime map you will get a feel for trouble spots and I monitor it sometimes.

Monitor utility usage.

Once you find a few comparable properties, monitor those listings to get a feel for how long it took to rent out. 

Make sure you monitor your credit score, keep it above an 700 as much as possible. build up as much cash reserves to say $20k or so just to let the bank know you can hold on to cash and manage credit.

Knowing how to find properties like that and being able to monitor TS status, title, property condition, area market trends, etc are just some of the factors that go into our success.

Since being abroad will make it harder to monitor or adjust if issues come up, I would recommend buying in a nicer area that's less prone to management headaches as well.

All of our owners and tenants email inquiries and requests are tracked by us and monitored internally based on first response and final solution to any given request/inquiry.  

@Mike Griffin I’ve done both successfully, and it’s as similar to eating tasty meal or watching a great movieSend me a PM and we can chatThe short answer is that they both have pros and cons when it comes to type/strategy, temperament, funding, maintenance/monitoring, cash flow, returns, financing, exit, etc.Be Successful

Also today, two regional Fed officials warned that the economy, which entered a recession a year ago, faces a lengthy slump. ‘Protracted’ Slump There will be a “protracted period of poor performance†and policy makers should remain “vigilant†in monitoring risks to growth, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in Michigan.

Maybe you should consider one of the thermostats that you can monitor via an app on your phone or at least have a programmable one installed so you know its getting turned down when nobody is at the property.