I will add that you definitely do not need to be near your investments, but it makes things a lot easier when you first start off. 

I live near a local college and this is in the East Bay Area, CA.

Consider financing options like hard money loans, or FHA loans for house hacking, and focus on areas with strong rental demand near the MA/NH border.

Is the property under a high tension power line or down wind from the horse rendering factory or on a main thoroughfare or some other obstruction that you wouldn't want to live near?

ThanksThere are no plan to sell any real estate in the near term. 

The numbers no longer look nearly as good on these investments (now more like speculation) and I will now be forced to get my deposit back or accept this new price.

Austin, TX rents are down nearly 12% YoY.

Many people have a mortgage on a property where the land value is much greater than the home (aka near the water) and insurance is not able to pay off your entire outstanding mortgage.

It's a little remote, however, the community seems to be new and growing and there are other houses and developments going up near by.

This is my first investment of this sort and it has not worked out how I originally intended but I am learning from my mistakes and will be making better decisions in the near future What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?