Here's info on Huntsville:Now Alabama’s largest city, Huntsville’s military (Redstone Arsenal), space (NASA), telecommunications (ADTRAN, AT&T), biotechnology (Hudson Alpha), diversified manufacturing (Toyota/Mazda, Polaris) and a variety of emerging specialties provide challenging work (#5 Best Places for Career Opportunities) in delightful surroundings (#3 Best Places to Live in the US).

I would be honest and as transparent as possible.

@Marco Y.When choosing inexpensive kitchen cabinets for your rental property, prioritize durability, ease of maintenance, and a neutral aesthetic that will appeal to a wide range of tenants.Like @Bruce Woodruff said, I would stay away from IKEA and RTA.Consider open shelving to cut costs. 

More so as a sanity check to see how I stack up against my competition and as a data point in underwriting. 

A way I came up with is my family owns a small restaurant and a majority of our clientele are older people.

Where it gets complex is combining properties with different ownership structures.A good rule of thumb is the what needs to be the same is the end TAXPAYER, so for example, we just did a 1031 where 2 separate LLCs (Single-member and thus disregarded entities from a tax standpoint) both owned by the same parent LLC  sold (relinquished) properties and a 3rd and different Single Member LLC (also owned by the same parent LLC) bought the replacement property.   

I can't retire, refuse to work for someone else,  but I do have cash built up (Thank GOD), and a 850 Fico across all the Credit Bureaus.

This has led to an increase in property prices and a growing population seeking employment opportunities.In addition to Columbus, other cities worth considering in the Midwest include Cleveland and Dayton.

I'll play devil's advocate, at that price you might as well invest in multifamily units. 3-4 unit properties are selling in the low $200K and with an average rent of $700/unit, you get better cash flow and spread out risk (1/3 units vacant versus the house 100% vacant.)You do your inspections and make necessary improvements upfront to offset the risks with buying a "used" property instead of brand new construction.Alternatively, how much of a price difference between new construction and a remodeled home?

. - so I guess I need to estimate what those would be - he is in his 70s and has uncles and aunts that lived until late 90s and one until 102 when no one did) and a comfortable retirement (he is extremely frugal so that's not an issue).