I'd encourage you to familiarize yourself with different parts of New England and weigh where you want to live with the employment opportunities in the area... unfortunately your W2 job is going to dictate what you'll be able to afford, so buying somewhere that provides a good, well-paying job, will have a big impact on your initial success with real estate investing. 

The 'norm' of the seller picking title company is the #1 thing I would change if I were Dictator of Bay Area Real Estate for a day.

That may dictate where would be the best location.

Steven Don’t let the tenant start dictating you..If you decide to repair or replace that’s fine but don’t let the tenant push you to do something you don’t want.

The market dictates terms.

There is no way to predict what the world will be like in 15 years (much less 40 years) and the time value of money dictates that you can grow that wealth very quickly if you get that capital and redeploy it now. 

I am wondering if anyone can point me to the document or source that dictates how a tenants personal property is to be handled after an eviction or abandonment in the state of Iowa.  

But based on where you are buying the property in Palm Springs dictates the percentage of days a property states rented.

But what this illustrates is that it's not the size of the firm that dictates your experience. 

For example, if you're not doing work for anyone else, if your "boss" is dictating your hours, if your "boss" is providing you tools, if you don't have a separate business entity, etc., you very well could be considered an employee -- this is not a decision you make, but is determined by the structure of the relationship.