I would bounce this off of a local R.E. attorney, it's worth a phone call.

-Should I purchase closer to home so I can be the Broker for my own transactions?

My CPA has a couple LTR's, so I figure he must be on top of this.

Paid everything off on it so no debt. 

So far I have had a nerve racking a frustrating time.

We do include their tax rate on their return with supplement information but it only becomes a true topic of discussion during our quarterly calls with certain clients.

I just turned 59 years old, so cash flow is what I am hoping for.

Your best investment is in yourself.Consider going to college or learning a trade.Use the funds to invest in something that does not require much time so you can focus on learning.If you do decide to get into real estate, you may want to consider doing a house-hack.It will give you a place to live(potentially saving you a few hundred dollars from paying rent and also giving you training wheels for being a landlord).

The good news is that the financial metrics you've read about are universal and not at all country specific.The bad news is that Germany may just not be a good cash-flow market, compared to the U.S.But then, few markets are.That's why you find so many Germans and Australians and Spaniards and others trying so hard to find great deals in the U.S.And, even in the States, there are plenty of sub-markets where properties routinely fail the so-called "1% rule."

I research on social media, came up a list than make an intro call to each one of them.