Mid-term rentals could be a sweet spot between short and long term depending on where you are and what your market looks like.

Look for low spots, high spots.  

My biggest concern would be the possible damage you can't see and if you only have 3 years of life on it, you'll conceivably be back in this spot again very soon.

Have any of you checked out these spots?

Keeping an eye on upcoming policies will help spot where those opportunities may lie.

Indianapolis, Dayton, Middletown, Columbus, are all great spots to buy an SFH or MFH 2-4 unit.

Then once you know values and numbers of your market, then you can start to spot opportunity.Go to local RE meetups.

Or for it to be a generational vacation spot? 

Best thing to do is be alert and try to stay away when you spot potential sign of trouble coming your way.

Eventually, you will see a property pop up that is an outlier in your favor, and you will be the only person who knows that market so well as to be able to strike quickly.The 1% rule had a value at one point, maybe as a screening tool, but it could never compete with the specialist who has done the reps.This is spot on.