I'm native to the Pittsburgh region currently investing in Allegheny and Butler Country in Multifamily Properties, commercial and residentialQuick RE Background: General Contractor for a few yearsExcavating / Demo - Operator for a few yearsCivil Engineer / Architect - currentlyMy current market contains two parallel pipelines.

Do you want to manage a possible weak cash flowing property from across country in two years (or are you going to get a great deal and sell it...counting on appreciation is not a great deal)?

I ran cross country and track at The University of Mobile and Mississippi State, so I know what it means to put in the time and effort to get what you want. 

Randomly picking from 2005 to now is going to give a skewed version of things as 2005 is when we hit the high water mark of home ownership on the entire country's history at a rate of roughly 69%.

@Steve Matthews You could buy solid cash flow properties 12%+ Net ROI with cash or financing here in Cleveland Ohio, one of the best cash flow markets in the country.  

The owners mailing addresses are all over the country and even in to Europe, China, and Africa.How should I choose?

I have had investors fly in from all different parts of the country to look at all these areas and they are all surprised by how nice the area is given the price point.Follow and listen to people who are actually investing in a city like Adrien and not someone who hasn't or would never invest in a city based on some incorrect information.

It works the same no matter what part of the country you invest in.

The owners moved out of the country and their kids want to just sell it. 

I can across a house in the country.