Hire a few good professionals.That's just the bare bones 50,000 foot view.Good Luck!

@David Faulkner... yes I factor all of those to some degree, but when the cash flow is negative or barely break even, its hard to convince myself that those other factors trump the poor cash flow. #2 and #3 assume you are getting a good deal and the likelihood of continued appreciation is high for the entire time you own the property..... buy at the high end of the market and those aspects fall flat. 

And it is barely higher only in some areas adjusted for inflation or even below the 2007 value today. 

If you keep the equity to a bare minimum you will maximise your cash flow.

In terms of prices, if you do decide to look for places in Barcelona, keep in mind that 100k is the bare minimum to look out for.

She told us the previous contract was for $315,000 to buy her 3 bedroom / 2 bath home on a little over an acre of land, but she was willing to take $300,000 as the bare minimum.

I don't buy things under pressure sales tactics.Compounding this problem is that fact that I have a lot of questions and this WF guy is clearly from UAE or Pakistan and I can barely understand him.

If you do it yourself , materials cost more than you think , its nothing to drop $ 1000 at the supply house and barely fill a truck .

There are 28k properties locally barely held together or liveable that get 1400 in rent.I wouldn't really want to invest somewhere without some kind of connection or boots on the ground.

In a market that barely increases at the inflationary level (2-3% annually) with exception of the last 2-3 years where property values have shot up due to lack of new build inventory to meet demand, I can only imagine that there's a market correction coming once the general economy cools - I'm not sure if my current job will be a long-term place (i've only been there a year) and whether Louisville is our permanent home or not.