@Michael J Ralph at the end of the day it's whether you want to manage the property yourself or not, and if the returns meet your goals.

(My commute is 40 min on average w/o traffic) Plus, when you look farther south you'll have a better cash on cash return.

But as a return on the value of the asset it's usually a horrible rate of return. 

It really comes down to what type of property, area and returns you may be looking for. 

you more so need to be willing to put money into what many consider high priced properties to generate high rent and make a return worth while. 

If you don't want to lose money along the way and be truly passive; find someone else's platform where you can reap more consistent returns.

Depending on your goal and strategy you can flip or BRRRR an apartment complex, the same way you would a SFH (over a longer period of course) and make a fantastic return.

you should get your financing locked down first. you may find it next to impossible to find financing for a foreigner with those kind of down payments. and for sure heed @Ned Carey advice top of the market not the bottom look for a solid 5 to 8% return instead of 10 to 15  those are for those that live there and can stay right on top of them. 

Heating A/C systems.Probably above avg returns.

@Aditya Maini If you have to take out a personal loan and the payment on that would zero out your cash flow, then that's a negative return on investment.