Remember when you are doing your computations that it is not just about the purchase price and rents... cash flow is dependent on many factors including taxes.Cash flow is King and Appreciation is Queen, you need both to build a lasting kingdom.

I was depressed and Lost my drive.

While patching a roof on one of my houses there this week, I was delayed by trucks driving slowly through 'driving for dollars'. 

You will need to take additional risk and buy from places like auctions, HUD, Homepath, wholesalers, FSBO, drive-bys, Craigslist, etc. 

Could anyone layout the key factors in studying a market?

My first was a 17" that lasted me until 2015, when I upgraded to a 15" with a sold state drive - and that makes a big difference in speed!

Given that driving 3 hours was too much for you to do before putting in your sight unseen offer, I don’t think this is the right property for you.  

Also, it's not so far away that you couldn't drive there a couple of times a year. 

@Odie Ayaga:We wanted to set and drive strategy, which was owned by the marketing function at our companies.

I'm sure there isn't an exact formula and it depends on the area and other factors, but if there are rough rules that people follow it would be helpful for me to hear them.Lastly, the cash flow on this property isn't going to be much (after setting aside 5/5/5 for vacancy, repair, and cap expenditures) until I am able to bring the rents up to market rate, so I will be managing this property myself.