Not sure if a local bank may be better than FHA, or are there other avenues that I should explore?

A good team for out of state investing consist of a local lender, Property Manager, contractor and a good agent to coordinate with everyone to secure your transaction.

Research local market data, historical price trends, and future development plans.

Tools like Zillow, Realtor.com, and local real estate websites can provide valuable insights.Choosing a market involves balancing risk and potential return.

Sometimes local credit unions or banks nearby are more up for this kind of thing. 

Neighborhood schools garner 4’s for elementary and high school and a 7 for the local middle school.We don’t live in Oregon, but do live in the pacific northwest and regularly visit relatives who live in the Grants Pass/Medford area.

However, I’m leaning towards investing closer to home where I can be more hands-on and build a local network.I'll DM you.

Building permits, a leading indicator of future construction activity, were up by 1.5% to 1.80 million units.Rent costs rising over the past few years could finally be hitting the consumer's wallet in that they are becoming weaker and unable to afford higher rents.Also, looking at the housing starts data, new supply may be entering the market finally, causing prices to drop as consumers have more options. 

It is important to continue to do research, connect with experts on BP, and what I have found the most helpful is to go to local real estate meetups.

I would say that you "can" submit an offer with anything you want in it but depending on how much activity the property has, your offer might look worse than the next offer.