Fellow newbie here so feel free to take my thoughts with a grain of salt :)I️ second the sentiment of confirming rents in that area - I️ visited with a few turnkeys in KC about a month ago to get a feel for the area and felt that some of the rent estimates were more optimistic than warranted.

AirDNA recently published a "best places to buy vacation home" breakdown and Napa and Sonoma clearly stand out as unusually profitable: http://blog.airdna.co/buy-vacation-home-properties...I think that's in large part due to the strong restrictions on STR's - when visiting Napa I was told that non-owner-occupied STR permits are hard to come by, STR permits have an annual cap, and owner-occupants get priority. 

theyll help you with estimating what it might cost per unit)-actually visit the property (with someone knowledgeable) and assess the condition of the expensive items (roofing, heating/ac systems, foundations, plumbing/elec, etc).some of these things will most likely be req'd by whoever your lender is anyways. of course some sellers wont oblige the requests for such detailed info until theyre confident in your offer/ability to purchasealso, sometimes people only look at their buying plan. you want to have a further view and have a plan on exiting (selling it when youre done). how you finance it can impact this because youll want financing that's favorable not only to yourself but to a future buyer as well.being able to sell it off as easy as possible is an advantage and you should always think how you can approach a property thinking "how can my actions help the property be worth more in the future and ease such a sale/transfer when im done?"

I am glad this discussion came up about properties in Baltimore.I know there are many great sounding sales online for properties in the Baltimore and I am sure they are getting their fair of interest from out of market buyers.Unfortunately, when you do site visits you will find that the particular areas are in war zone status and are not safe to walk in, much less invest.Personally I do not mind section 8 or low income renters but the problem currently in many Baltimore locations is not only renters not paying, but the tenants ripping out all of your fine upgrades to sell on the street. 

The HVAC company I called for an annual maintenance visit said there is nothing to maintain.

I have family there as well that I visit periodically and lived there myself for 2 years many years ago, so I do have a decent grasp of the layout and neighborhoods. 

If it only turns into a bathroom visit- not far.  

I was visiting my rentals last week; the sky was ugly with smoke, and everything was blanketed in ash.

I would take on the calls, make the follow ups, visits, and getting the property under contract.

Find a Real Estate Investment Association or club in your area, go visit and see if you like it enough to join.BP podcasts, download them to your phone and listen to them on the drive to and from work.