Your argument of no jobs and low pay doesn't seem to be founded in anything other than your perception from an occasional visit and maybe what your friends/family are telling you...please let me know if I'm mistaken.I'm curious what is so compelling about Columbus or Indy that makes you think that these cities are poised to appreciate significantly faster than Louisville and would make for better buy and hold purchases?

@Alex Gitman If you are only occasionally doing this, I would find his phone number and call him but thats just me.

Then you will need to spend at least a few hundred - let's call it $500 - per year maintaining what you've done - pulling weeds, putting in mulch, replacing the occasional dead plant, etc.

My wife has experience in residential design (and she has been the sole designer and occasional GC on the remodels on our last three homes).Goals:  I pulled some equity out of the market and thought we would use that buy maybe 1-2 single-family homes here in Dallas and see how we liked being actual landlords.  

Occasionally I will dip below that when buying a lot or get a lot above that when saving up for a big purchase but it gives you a rule of thumb.One other thing I would caution about is make sure you have lots of liquidity just before and for 6-12 months after a big purchase.

Of course you can always do an occasional trip to the property to do updates and maintenance. 

I know an investor who occasionally wholesales or wholetails.....I'll hit you up if she has any in the future.

As far as the adjacent fourplex, sounds like it might be a matter of being in occasional communication, waiting, and making a deal at the right moment.  

I dont mins occasional repairs but worried about roofs/foundations

The reason I got my license is to (a.) get referral fees when I come across a seller that I recommend to sell on the market, and (b.) to occasionally represent some of those leads myself to sell their home on the market.