I’ve checked out google but not sure what to make of the reviews I read there.

I would recommend checking out of state markets where numbers and landlord laws make sense.

I was doing pretty well with my existing properties in San Francisco Bay Area and Indianapolis suburb, all Class A, higher income tenants, oldest property is built in 1957 and 1961 (local so I can check on these every week and they are all up to code) and 2005 (Indy Class A)I bought in spring 2023 a Class C property in Indianapolis for $130,000 which was supposed to cash flow on paper $176 a month at higher interest rate.

I used this comparison site to check quotes from local contractors.

Then you have to coordinate with different people with little to no professional background or even background checks.

You'll have to double check the minimum amount due each month to be sure you can make the payments prior to securing long term financing.

Check the Promissory Note and/or the TILA disclosures. 

It is an area we frequently visit, so it would be easy for us to check on our property when in town and we like the idea of investing "in our backyard" for our first property before branching out into different markets.

In addition, check out the chamber of commerce https://greaterlouisvillepartnership.com/ where you can find the top 10 employers for different industries such as healthcare, tech, manufacturing and logistics.

You can't offer someone who owes $200k on their mortgage $25k down with seller financing (check out https://www.biggerpockets.com/...), so another important piece of homework is to try and figure out how much the seller owes.