I think a better question is the one that you ask to yourself as to what areas align with your goals and has the right strategy to achieve that.

Sometimes the stars align and it happens.

Everything has a time component.

I see different things about wether   building materials are an expense, or just the sales tax on the materials with depreciation of durable components. ?  

Let them know your strategy, your goals and what your business plan is to ensure that your business plan aligns with theirs and you can both work towards the same goal.

My advice would be to address your displeasure with your agent, and explain to her what your goals are, and if you don’t align find you another agent in the BP directory, who works with investors. 

It seems you have done this part, pick an investment strategy that aligns with your personal and financial goals. 

What does a walk-through tell you about the condition of components such as the roof or foundation, and could those be used to work the seller down on their price? 

I'd encourage you to do some broad state / area research to determine where and eventually which cities you want to focus on and then you'll need to build your on ground support team, which is a key component for out of state investors and why I wouldn't recommend focusing on too many areas. 50K is likely going to put you in a riskier area even in the Midwest so if this is your first investment in the area, I'd probably lean towards a less risky investment and talk to experienced investors from that area as well.

@Musammath Khan A deal generally needs 3 components to work.