I have mixed feelings about this.  

Right now, I am targetting Spokane and the Tri-cities due to their mix of cashflow and appreciation, although I am open to other suggestions. 

Off the top of my head - new FC Cincinnati stadium, massive mixed use at former US Playing Cards site, massive new mixed use project along the river in Newport.

There is an investor who I follow on IG - "youngretireeby33" - who has a mix of SFH and I think a few vacation rentals.

If you're going to buy a property to be a short term rental, don't try to mix it with pleasure.

Then for 5 minutes I like to vision my future with my young family with the success of real estate investments in the mix.

In the end the answer as to what a good COC return is, there is no universal standard, it varies on the mix of all the dozens upon dozens of variables, which accounts for about 400 different scenarios, making for about 400+ answers. 

And you won't find out if they were properly screened for a little while...Also, nobody likes to hear this, but you are mixing business with friendship, and unfortunately things can and do go wrong.

I've seen homes in Farmers Branch, and Irving which seem like areas that are up and coming would love to hear input on surrounding areas as well.Given the situation I've heard/read mixed signals about investing in real estate what are your thoughts?

Trended data is used and lenders will look to see how much of a payment you're making and what kind of balances do you carry each month.Credit mix (revolving loan, fixed-length loan, auto loan, etc.) helps your credit score, but that isn't something to really worry about.