Other things you need to factor in: utilities like satellite TV/internet (which, since the house probably doesn't have access to cable, internet can be An Issue), and will the HOAs allow short-term rentals?  

Drive/walk the neighborhood to find properties that look vacant/unkempt and do a little research to find out who the owner is and see if they can be interested in selling.

Guess it doesn't hurt, but I thought that was something we only factor in for 5 or more.  

@James LeeHow much cashflow you’re willing to take should have your expected appreciation playing a big factor, no matter what it is

Would I have to find a company in the area that I find the deals and drive out there every time I want to close?

Final approval will ultimately be up to the investor.There are other/additional factors as well.

Lots of driving lyft and wife picking up extra hours. 

If you're talking owner occupied, meaning you're going to live there, it seems like choosing between those two areas is the primary consideration, then once you've picked that market you can dive down to consider specific properties.For your own personal residence, usually other life factors such as proximity to your place of employment and family considerations (spouse/partner, children, parents/extended family) are even more important than real estate investment.

I hesitate to call the current market a bubble - there's just too much up in the air to really see what's what, and while RE is a big part of the general health and status of the economy, there are a number of other factors that determine what / when / how the correction happens.The bigger they are, the harder they fall, so unless we (collectively as a society) really have our crap together (which we don't), when we eventually do go down I think it's gonna be a doozy. 

There is a calculation performed each year based on the account value and an age factor (perhaps yours, perhaps the deceased original account holder depending on certain variables).