Yeah at the time I was a foreman on a construction crew for a local contractor/my beat friend and mentor, so I had a truck full of all the tools, access to leftover materiels needed as well as a significant amount of experience so yes I personally added a second bathroom and as far as the 5th bedroom goes, it was just a matter of putting a door on the "living room".

Jacksonville will only continue to grow..check in with @Joseph Chiofalo he's a excellent local lender excellent at educating first time investors.

There are also a few local investor groups you should go to- one in Merrillville and one in Highland.

My dad broke up the concrete in just a few locations so water could seep through and drain into the soil, then filled the pool with the cheapest stone and clean soil locally available, then planted grass.

I'm originally from Maryland (close to DC) and currently live here but willing to move to be local to Norfolk/Hampton Roads if necessary.

When I was extremely active in flips, they were the only homes I bought. 

I'm torn about investing local or going oos.

There are many different successful strategies depending on your cash, borrowing ability, rehab skills, time, local contacts, or lack of any or all of them.

Issue is I have property actively leased at $1500 but appraisal came in with $1215 because they said they couldn’t find any good comps.

Diversification of your portfolio, both geographically and by property type, can spread risk and mitigate the impact of localized economic conditions.