As for a corporate rental you can also see strong rental income with a little less risk since you would be renting to a corporation and they would be on the lease. 

Then they will have strong work ethic. 

A lot of my clients buy in Alexandria because of the strong rental market and laid back laws on short and midterm rentals. 

Really about growing a strong portfolio of solid deals.Now that being said, if you are a high income earner, well qualified, and can't find reasonably good deals: (i) you can connect with a well connected real estate agent for off-market deals; (ii) you might do a very narrow cost-effective cold call or letter writing.

Strong performance so far.

I have no particular area that I'd like to start with or focus on, but probably prefer somewhere in the south of the US due to my strong aversion of winter.

When we purchased our laundromat, it had a strong brand and positive reviews online.

Research landlord-friendly states with lower property prices and strong rental demand, like Texas or the Midwest.

I strongly recommend against people buying real estate with zero money.

Do sunshine and beaches matter more, or a strong job market in your specific field?