@Dan Wentworth, @Taylor L.Dan, Taylor has provided some very good initial steps to get you started with creating those relationships that will eventually bring you some quality off-market deal flow.I would like to reiterate the point that this is not an overnight process.

Most quality contractors I know have a lot of work and don't necessarily like dealing with investors because some, not all, are cheap and clueless.  

Or, a $500k house in the midwest or somewhere like Georgia will be nearly a mansion, and that high of quality of property isn't likely going to have a very high rentability factor because it's too nice... people in that arena will just buy.- what's the rentability factor and what kind of tenants will it attract?

We had briefly considered trying to see if the home could be repaired and have mold remediation to rent it out, but the neighborhood has gone down in quality over the years and we are hesitant to have responsibility over upkeep of the home.

Or you can hire an engineer and have them write letters explaining quality of work, materials used etc to verify that the work was done correctly. 

Their lack of procedure and other processes should have little or no bearing on your landlording, and usually it only takes a bit of explanation to help a quality tenant understand that.

Although there are circumstances going on at the moment that are out of anyone's control, generally, it's not difficult to avoid evictions; thoroughly screen, invest in a quality market and treat tenants like human beings.

Time of day and of course Keywords can really tell you a lot about the quality of booking.

In need of quality Rehabbers/contractors Atlanta/Cobb area?

That will make the size of the home (and the backyard), the attractiveness of the area, the quality of the schools, etc, more important than the commute time to NYC.