I'm a new investor gearing up for a trip to Indy to explore buy-and-hold, single family properties for rental income.

I run the largest REI meeting in town and I have invested both in Vegas and out of state. 

I completely agree, the distance just makes it more challenging and expensive to manage your manager...i have to pay the cost for airline tickets to inspect their work vs a drive across town...

I emailed the Chesapeake town zoning guy and he said that it is not legal to rent out an in law suite or to have a second kitchen in our house...

However I know of a property that might help, please give me your honest Opinion.In my home town there is a house that has sat empty since I was a child (15 years so far). 

Your town is on the smaller side right around 30k people it looks like.

(okay, now I've got more as I've looked into YOUR area in Washington)Your target town is growing!

I had a client in town today who lives in Orlando and he stated there are no good deals for buy and hold cash flow bc of the appreciation that has happened over the past several years. 

One is an apartment in a small town  in upstate NY, one near the beach in San Diego and one in Lake Tahoe that is half a condo. 

have a solid idea of your market ie rents, types of tenants, property taxes, sewage and water rates, insurance rates, cap ex and maintenance expenses, good parts of town vs bad parts of town.