I don’t know your background look the Seller you and him may have went to Attorney done title search, ect..property may be in tip top shape, you may be able to make repairs in a timely manner long distant (or a management company in place) and maybe all the tenants are paying.

and am looking to learn how to buy and rent single family homes in San Diego to increase my cash flow and maybe add more long term savings for the days when covid-19 will be a distant memory (sigh).

For example, I recently had a tenant share that there was a gap under her door where snakes could get through -there was one she had seen in the garden so we requested the seller fix this prior to closing - now the tenant is delighted and feels cared about and positive about the new owners.When you become the new owner it might be useful to think about how distant you hope to be from the tenants - are you going to manage the property yourselves or have a management company deal with tenant relationships -if you aim to deal directly as it sounds like you are - establishing a positive relationship at the outset is worth it's weight in gold in my experience.

I suspect in the not too distant future, there may be some desperate sellers.Good luck

We have distant relatives in the Boston area and in New Orleans. 

How distant is it from the subject property and how long does it take to drive there?

I'm somewhat of a newer to REI, I have done a couple deals but currently have zero doors.  I want to purchase buy & hold multi-family units in the US. The problem right now is I'm stationed overseas and might be f...

The one exception I can think of is when you have a personal connection to the distant area (e.g., grew up there, have family or very close friends, etc.). 

I'm looking at at house that is near power lines and across the street from an electrical station (distant).

I have learned with my first one though that dealing with tenants is not my cup of tea, so property managers may be in my not to distant future or I may switch to at least properties dealing with higher quality tenants.