In no particular order I have listed some of the most popular markets for out of state investorsCincinnati, OhioDayton, OhioToledo, OhioYoungstown, OhioCincinnati, OhioMemphis, TennesseeSaint Louis, MissouriIndianapolis, IndianaDetroit, MichiganErie, PennsylvaniaLouisville, KentuckyMilwaukee, WisconsinJackson, MississippiEach of these markets is popular with turnkey investors because of the low barrier to entry, high rental demand & high rent to price ratio.

Charlotte is a healthy market, there are also cheaper opps in the suburbs of Charlotte that could be attractive as well due to low barrier of entry and higher returns.

But in both cases you're "comping" just the same.Another notable difference between single family home valuation and apartment valuation is in the availability of data.

Im sure a PVA data search would show where they have picked up land (likely 2-3 different plots) and then start looking for units around them to buy and hold. 

I currently have a large 1300 sq ft+ 1 / 1 condo that has a very high HOA in general but after analyzing the data it's also high for the building.

I know there's data out there regarding property prices, and there's data out there about the short-term rental market a la AirBnB, but do you know where I can find data on year-to-year leases for rooms? 

I was thinking something along the lines of a Ring system, coded entry knobs, and a few cameras up high on the corners of the building also.  

This is because they scrape data off the MLS listing for their listing on their sites. 

Do the following, go to assessor's website of county you live in, locate GIS data organizing properties by number of units, download excel spreadsheet of addresses/owner info, import into google maps using site such as batchgeo, drive by and identify 15-30 properties you're interested in, skip trace owners to find current address, text/email/call owners, be consistent & do this every 1-2 weeks, you find a property in 1-3 months. 

Thanks for the info Ehsan.I would be using the data to do wholesale & / or fix & flip.