I like cities with years of population growth a good college and multiple employment fields.  

I guess you can say the following criteria, will get you in the door of an FHA loan.620 Credit Score'2 Years stable income -w2, self-employed etc.

Housing, recession, un-employment, interest rate, inflation? 

.% of vacant homes% of boarded up homes (not always easy to get this one).Employment rate for the area.Probably a few others.

I was also employed at the time.I wish I had the resources available here when I started.

The president, Brian Burke, is not just an incredible real estate entrepeneur, but also one who believes in giving back to the communities in which we live and work.One of the single family investment strategies Praxis employs is buying entry level homes, rehabbing, and leasing them to individuals and families.

People forget that a big employer here, Scott & White, have many employees that need homes to rent or buy while working on their residency or starting their practice in medicine. 

This creates a precarious situation where employment is tenuous or it could also be that employment is fine and plenty of it within a short driving distance but if the majority of your population are renting it's fair to say that they are transient and most likely do not have any vested interest in the community or general appearance. 

The only snag I think you will run into is the history of employment, so that may only be of help in the future.As far as no money down goes, it is real but you have to find an investor and be able to prove to them that you can make them money with the money they are giving you.

Although the Frauds Act requires that any contract for the sale of land be in writing, it contains no such requirement with regard to real estate brokers’ contracts of employment or the commissions derived from them.