That is how real investing is done.Read on for more insight...The Real Estate Crash of 2008-2010 caused real estate prices to crash across the country - but didn't affect rent amounts.

Granted, I self manage so I am meeting tenants, but at the end of the day, getting this gut check on the person I am going to trust living in my property kept me from having any issues with my tenants that would require a "more landlord friendly state".Given the wide swath of the country that is "landlord friendly", I would think more about places you know well and/or have ties to already.  

Then the city made headlines as the highest appreciating market in the country, edging out Miami. 

And I am not even a germophobe, when you travel in third-world countries you can't be, but I would not get into anyone's bath water if I don't have to, STR, hotel or gym.

The good news is that the financial metrics you've read about are universal and not at all country specific.The bad news is that Germany may just not be a good cash-flow market, compared to the U.S.But then, few markets are.That's why you find so many Germans and Australians and Spaniards and others trying so hard to find great deals in the U.S.And, even in the States, there are plenty of sub-markets where properties routinely fail the so-called "1% rule."

For insurance I use Zach Culbertson with Country Financial.

For instance in the Northwest.. picking anything with  Pacific  Northwest  or local cities etc are already taken .. but when i have someone pick one from where thay are at in the country its never taken.. 

Section 8 rents for the entire country by locality are on the HUD website, HUDuser.org look for Fair Market Rent (FMR) there. 

I admit i had to skim that novel you wrote, but the only functional use for BTC I could see you giving was buying a pizza in Venezuela .. a country with a completely devalued currency and teetering on the brink of failure. 

But, also due to the aging population you have people like my landlord; whose children don't want to inherit the property because they live in a different area of the country.