In Ogden in particular, condition plays a large factor and it's difficult to get a feel for these properties unless you can see them physically.Also, there's a local Real Estate Investors Association that's a great way to network offline (nureia.org) (Disclosure: I'm on the board).Good luck and let us know if we can help!

I personally wouldn't invest in an area like that for several reasons, unless the area was big enough to support a larger property and professional management.For myself I only look to invest in large metros.

I started looking for value ad opportunities and changed from duplexes to single family for a more hands off management, which is what I needed to scale up while still working for a global company.The following years the rehabs got more involved and the properties got more expensive, because I started to realize that only a certain quality of neighborhood would allow me to do a full blown gut rehab and not lose equity in the process. 

For Marin the lot is very large 10,000 square ft so expansion is an option.

Most people (non real estate investors) dont use large chunks of credit like we do, so they dont see the fluctuations to their score like that.

You mentioned some small rooms, this often happens when a large addition is attached to an older smaller house. 

How large of a project are you looking at?

Rents in relation to purchase prices are significantly better as you go closer toward DC, especially in Arlington with a large stream of young consultants supporting government technology projects.My cousin has been doing better in upstate NY buying an older duplex property for $130k with combined monthly rent of $1500.

Hope to be able to connect and speak with the large amount of investors here to learn and grow.

A large portion of the population of San Marcos is made up of students.