Few things are as changeable as a squatter's emotions/commitments.

Every day there are half a dozen in vacation rentals and another half dozen in temporary rentals. 

I am a federal employee and the government shutdown really affected me emotionally.

Additionally if the sellers really needed extra time to move out than, before you close you could have used a temporary occupancy agreement where they agree to a daily pro rated rental amount for every day after closing they remain in the home.

He thinks it's a temporary slide and will recover back up within a few months, which makes me even more confident that this market is up for some really tough times.

Housing can be a very emotional decision and as investors we monetize our tenants' need for housing. 

@Farhan Khan owner financing is typically more expensive and temporary.

Are you going to be able to make good decisions unclouded by emotion (both for your own good, and to do right by tenants who you KNOW won't report any infractions you commit?)

Investing in real estate has some risk but this can be mitigated by education, experience and ensuring the numbers make logical sense, (not emotional).

Apart from whether or not our local market is “good”, since any market can be good for real estate, would you recommend starting locally to be closer to the action or out of state to keep emotion out of it?