For all methods you would want to find a market that has strong employment rates, strong income rates for the market, and is a growing or an established market. 

The intent of getting a sales agent license is to educate myself in Real Estate and create some additional income.

I would apply the cash flow to pay down the debt and hope to have significant passive income (or equity to put into something else) in 10 years.

I also agree, that income is not a protected class.

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.

Since comps are limited, analyze similar nearby locations to estimate demand.When pitching investors, focus on a clear business case: expected income, expenses, occupancy, and ROI.

Income: Verified monthly income must be at least three times the rent (minimum $4,200 combined).

Sterling,Each lender is different on how they calculate income and also what overlays they have that can cause a bad income calc. 

@Tony Schmucker Now that you know all of those markets work from a Macro perspective you should look to see where you want to live for 2-3 years and what your and your wife's income will be in those markets.

Im a huge fan of themI think both - they will bridge the gap with middle-income renters and also appeal to the higher-income bracket.