Hello everyone! My husband and I are just starting our real estate investment journey. We are currently considering starting in the Kansas City area, since we live in Los Angeles, CA we would greatly appreciate any he...

And I would say the closer to campus the better as students like to be in walking distance to football games.

It's a 10 minute commute in total.

I have read several books on the matter ("Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene, "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller, etc.), however I would like to open a discussion to fellow BP members on their experiences.Currently my objective has been to study the markets and demographics of different areas and find one that suits me best.

helpful @Charlie MacPherson. too bad 1-7 no long are good options as they're the best commute options for me.  

I've spent the past 45 days learning (read Rich Dad Poor Dad, Long Distance Real Estate Investing, listened to a lot of podcasts).

You should look into reading David Greene's Book on long distance investing.

I am also open to investing in the UK or US, but I would prefer to partner up with someone with more experience if I were to do any long distance investing.I do have some savings, but they are for the most part tied up in stocks (many of them are REITs and real estate related).

First decide if you want to remain a long distance landlord, keeping in mind that the next tenant may not be for 7 years again.I think if I could increase the rent by as much as you say, I'd do the work to bring the place up to date and re-rent at that new rate. 

At that distance from you, you may be better off investing in Augusta or Macon.