If I were buying my very first investment property and looking to become a RE investor long term as a wealth building strategy, there's no way I'd buy in an unknown area and try to "build a team" to run my business.   

As long as there is no large unknowns/risks (renovation done right, no title issues, not built on ancient burial site) I would call it a win. 

One book I want to throw out that hasn't been mentioned is Ayn Rand's Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. 

I expect they will, the other unknown is will people feel more comfortable staying with a corporate entity or an AIRBNB?  

But a certain amount of fear of the unknown might cause them to feel they HAVE to pay for something worthwhile.

Lot of unknowns here.

Obviously, the unknown occupant can lead to trouble in some cases, but again, you have way less actual control over this versus when you are screening the tenant. 

Again by asking around, you can find out how much.Asking about the marketability of land at an unknown address with vague parameters is a bit like asking how much a car is worth. 

The more stable, the better the rate, more volatility, unknowns, it prices it in. 

Fear of the unknown.