Ultimately my end goal is to own numerous properties and gain financial independence through the cash flow.

They're a lot more numerous and you might find more attractive numbers too - especially if you stay south of Boston.

Granted, if we get into a full-scale trade war with China, go to war with Mexico, leave the government closed for the next 6 months, then all bets are off.     

The place is in a war zone and I would end up with another property with tenants that are high maintenance.

The spouses who we ask to go to war with us for financial independence simply don't get enough credit.

It's easy to get distracted by the numerous ways people make money in real estate, so find what really excites you first and learn all about it. 

A few of the websites that I use are; https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/...www.bls.govwww.city-data.comThere are numerous posts here on BP that provide lists of cities that are considered some of the top cities for rental real estate investing.In fact there was recently one post that was started by Tom Otthttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/657...

Take a look on zillow and figure out which parts are not war zones and have the best purchase price to rent ratios.   

Tavish, Similar to other replies it will range on the market, however, 6-10% is very normal and I'm definitely willing to pay 10% if they property manager does a good job.Unfortunately, sometimes you don't learn how good of a job the property manager is doing until they've actually started managing the property.Obviously, there are numerous connections through BP that will help you find the right property manager for your specific market.

If you don't qualify for conventional financing, but have cash for down payment, then there are numerous "business purpose" lenders out there that will help you with a no income verification loan, depending on credit, up to 80% loan to value.