I'm a native Oregonian, and understand your frustration with trying to find a "good deal" inside Multnomah County.  

I'm a native West Virginian but moved to this area from Miami/Ft.

Prices are crazy in San Diego county and finding cash flow can be hard. I

Yes it came out of my pocket but It would still have had to come out of my pocket in some way as the money would not just magically appear no matter how hard I wished for it.

It is hard to make the numbers work locally for cash flow residential, but I'm a DMV native and so I choose to invest locally, where I understand the neighborhood and growth dynamics,  and where I can manage landlord issues locally. 

This is a simple problem, if you don't have experience, it seems hard. I

I just went through this with Hardy Siding in my area. 

If you are on the edge of a desert, it makes little sense to sod with {non native} grass species which require moisture levels above and beyond what Mother Nature supplies.Even way up here in the north east, we do not landscape our properties with non-native species - particularly non-native grass species and ornamental shrubs - many of which come from warmer climates further south and can be high maintenance given our winters and their lower resistance to {native} weeds and insects.

That bad news is that a winning bidder who does not perform gets hit pretty hard is unable to perform.

As a hands on individual who lives at the outer edge of a major metropolitan area, I'm curious if investors from the "big city" who are looking for more affordable markets would find benefit in the assistance of a fellow investor native to the area (to help vet properties and/or act as a property manager).