Items you'll need to factor in are: roof (metal is great), heating and air conditioning units, hot water heater, plumbing and cosmetic items.

I would look santee as cheapest within a reasonable drive...only issue is the heat in summer as its in the valley blocking ocean breeze. 

If you are in Canada, being very cold, heating cost likely will be very high for owners. 

The previous tenants moved out, and the property management team didn’t bother to check to see if the heat was on.

I truly like AZ, the heat and the prices seem much better down there.

The leak worsened, and in combination with the heat and humidity, the mold literally overtook his entire apartment unit.

Sounds like your car is out of headlight fluid and you need a new transmission.I suggest you get reading and dig in, learn about taxes.

I the way I do not pay for any heat or water tenants pay for that

One example of this is flexicore buildings here in Chicago that have radiant heat.

I have listed all my favorite zips from the metro area along with a little description to help you strategize:McFerrin Park = 37207 (up-and-coming/heating up, BRRRR friendly, older single family homes + new construction)Marathon Village, Buena Vista, B.A.D., Germantown = 37208 (up-and-coming/heating up/hot, works for a few different strategies, older single family homes, new construction, and reuse of old space, Germantown is a little bit of an outlier with how much more development has happened there than anywhere else in North Nashville but now there are more options)Madison = 37115 (strong rental market, suburb of Nashville, good for commuters)East Nashville = 37206 (established/desirable neighborhood, strong commercial strips, walkable could work for a few different strategies depending, older homes + new construction, lots of STR's, very easy to LTR as well)Inglewood = 37216 (an extension of East Nashville, marginally less desirable)The Nations, TSU/College Hill, Sylvan Heights/Park = 37209 (up-an-coming/heating up area, fairly strong commercial strips (continued growth), LOTS of new construction and development, Amazon just announced a multi-million dollar project with TSU)Downtown, WeHo, Midtown, Music Row = 37203 (very established/desirable neighborhoods, ideal STR location, easy to rent, I don't know if you know this but Amazon is coming to town and EY is expanding there base here as well.