@Troy EgarOne way of beginning to gain an understanding of your market it by looking at the relevant data.Data sources such as the American Community Survey, also known as the annual Census, can help you judge a location by considering key market indicators, which I list below.Some of the metrics that I find valuable to understand are:- Population Total- Population Age - Home Values- Household Incomes- Rental Vacancy Rate- Homeowner Vacancy Rate- Poverty Rate- Educational Attainment Rate (High School/GED & Bachelors)- Number of Housing Unit- Rent to Income Ratio- Rent to Price Ratio- Population on SNAPS (supplemental nutrition assistance program) percentage- Property Tax Rate- Median Age of Buildings- Number of Structures by Units (SFR, Duplex, Triplex, Quadplex, etc...)- Median Rents by Number of Bedrooms- Unemployment Rate- Employment Sectors Percentages- Number of Building Permits Issued- Foreclosure Rate- School Ratings- Crime Statistics Also take into consideration the direction in which each of these market indicators are trending.

I suggest targeting a few cities, which you can select by looking at the relevant data.Data sources such as the American Community Survey, also known as the annual Census, can help you judge a location by considering key market indicators, which I list below.Some of the metrics that I find valuable to understand are:- Population Total- Population Age - Home Values- Household Incomes- Rental Vacancy Rate- Homeowner Vacancy Rate- Poverty Rate- Educational Attainment Rate (High School/GED & Bachelors)- Number of Housing Unit- Rent to Income Ratio- Rent to Price Ratio- Population on SNAPS (supplemental nutrition assistance program) percentage- Property Tax Rate- Median Age of Buildings- Number of Structures by Units (SFR, Duplex, Triplex, Quadplex, etc...)- Median Rents by Number of Bedrooms- Unemployment Rate- Employment Sectors Percentages- Number of Building Permits Issued- Foreclosure Rate- School Ratings- Crime Statistics Also take into consideration the direction in which each of these market indicators are trending.

Depending on your tax bracket, you could be paying as much as 37% in taxes on your X% interest from REIT as it is considered ordinary income. 3) While keeping nu 2 above in mind, you can always invest in REITs (or syndications) via tax-deferred or tax-free accounts (example, is IRA) which will either allow you to hopefully lower or remove in some cases your tax burden. 

Are the laws in the US different for non-citizens vs. for Americans?

And I also live far from the United States and am not an American citizen.

@Lance Francis, based on your criteria of 300k to 500k you will surly have a difficult time find a property in NYCWith that in mind, here is a map showing the median home values as reported on the most recent American Community Survey aggregated by zip codes in the NYC area. 

I have been using American Interstate Bank for commercial loans.

The typical American homeowner has spent 13 years in their home, up from eight years in 2010, as more households are choosing to age in place.The supply of entry-level homes is also well below historical levels because during the foreclosure crisis, investors bought millions of distressed properties and turned them into rentals.

- current and projected expenses - what expense categories look out of the ordinary?

@Jordan Archer most states have standardized rates, and you can actually check those out on most title underwriter websites by entering a few pieces of data for example First American https://facc.firstam.com/?