I’ve heard that Brighton heights/observatory hill would be nice alternatives outside the city

We NEVER went days on end without seeing the sun - that's been normal here off and on the past 3 years - thank the Lord we're hitting summer where that should stop until this fall hopefully.Anyways - my personal preference is lots of sunshine and not days on end of clouds and grayness and hopefully no hurricane force winds for days on end - all things you can get in KS - I've lived in Holcomb, KS - 9 miles from Garden City in western KSWichita KS - most of my life with 1 place in city limits during adulthood, childhood out of town in a rural setting, and hs years on the edge of town in the burbs but with landTopeka, KS - going on 3 yrs now - we live out of town on landFt Myers, FL during the height of the bubble and start of the crash in the 00'sCape Coral, FL - same time periodPort Charlotte, FL - same time periodIf we were to stay in KS - there are things I like about where we're at but we are not in "LOVE" with it - we're close to KC - close to downtown Lawrence and have a unique property that is affordable.   

It is more difficult to cash flow here in the Los Angeles area but if you're willing to be patient you can have a renter pay a decent amount of your mortgage and then plan/forecast the appreciation.In my opinion the best areas for appreciation right now in the Los Angeles area are; Inglewood, Ladera Heights, Windsor Hills and Baldwin Village. 

Interested in some rental property in the Orlando area and Richmond Heights stands out a bit.

But, it is part of the business, just accept it and plan your time/budget accordingly. yes, I plan to pull permits to whatever needs permits (dupage, c(r)ook counties) ...I am just trying to figure out how to spot "other" problems that would require extra work to bring it up to code. looks like inviting village inspector prior to taking title is one way ...having a knowledgeable home inspector who knows "local" code requirements is another way to solve for that. today I might flip in Maywood IL, tomorrow I will go Arlington Heights, IL ...and another code bible opens ..

I used to live in Ashview Heights and it was not the best.

This is general advise: Aviod Oak Park, Del Paso Heights, locations were there are multiple 4-plexes or duplexes make up the subdivision.

Area’s like the pearl District, Owen park, or Brady heights by downtown have really had an increase in rents.

There may be an overhaul of "the system" at some point (topic for a different thread haha) but as long as you haven't overbought on properties with zero cash flow in ND at the height of the fracking boom, you'll more than likely be fine.

I've been quite active in Dearborn/Dearborn Heights, which is nice since Ford Motor Company is renovating their entire facility, which should bring up/stabilize house values, but a ton of competition.https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en...Also active in Detroit as well, with a system and team on the ground.