I understand looking at schools and crime rates and to avoid war zones but is there anything else that should be considered?

Use property management company in Topeka.I am from Topeka area and lived in Salina for a few years while going to school at K-State, so I am somewhat familiar with Salina good and bad areas.Some books I have found helpful are:Steve Berges "The Complete Guide to Investing in Rental Properties"J.

Not that it's high mathematics or difficult but the application of weighted computations is really not taught at the high school level, not being condescending, it's just usually not presented until later on in a formal education in business or engineering or sciences.

Should I get a second job and make 2000 a month, and save up for my down payment or should I go to school to be a maintenance technican.

Should I get a second job and make 2000 a month, and save up for my down payment or should I go to school to be a maintenance technican.

@Andrew S. if you tell me you saw someone doing a keg stand, then I am going back to school to be Frank the Tank!

I also have a goal to build language schools throughout Latin America with a cool twist for college students.

I could rent it out as a single family, start a charter school out of it, or rent out one unit and use the rest of the place as an in-home day care as long as one of the tenants was employed at the day care...So they would let me put a SCHOOL there but not put up three walls for a multifamily...I live in a rural area and I do not see any other use for this property.

Close to desirable schools and grocery shopping.

Second I assume you are looking for single family houses for long term rentals to hold and not rehabs or commercial properties.If that's the case you need to be very careful investing from afar in single family houses as the dynamics are different.Do not be sold on a property where they say it's CLOSE to this great area etc.Instead look at population growth, quality of schools, the economic planning department, permits pulled for building, whether the state is business friendly and whether it is a pro-tenant or pro-landlord state, median income levels, job growth, and crime levels ( violent versus non-violent offenses ) etc.Many more metrics to look at but this will get you started.