You want good schools, population stability, strong employment/average income, etc.Finally, narrow it down to the type of property you are looking to invest in: single-family, multi-family, short-term rentals, etc.I recommend "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene for more details on how to evaluate a market.

I believe David Greene talks about this concept. 

I’ve been going through David Greene’s BRRRR book and this is the course of action he recommends.

Someone's going to eat the dirt.

Don’t like to kill things, vegan/animal rights community, green or environmentally friendly community, natural/organic/anti pesticide community, or simply because it’s a better home building design.

Capex and repair value I used from brandon turner/ david greene.. 5-8% of budget.

Have you read the BRRRR book by David Greene?

@Josh Green - great question.

Or do I just eat the $300/month once it’s rented and hope that rent goes back up in a year or so?

David Greene always talks about it in the podcast, find an agent who also owns rental properties because they understand the numbers.