Some of the factors that make it desirable for Investors is affordability, great return on investment, positive cash flow potential and an economical growth rate that rivals other larger metropolitan cities.

Be sure its a city with growing trade economics.

That's actually how I started.This actually accomplishes several things:It keeps my home and the roof over my head out of harm's way.It motivates me to peddle fast and hard to pay off debt.The last economic crisis is littered with people who used their residences to fund their investment plans.

Hello BP community,I am a new real-estate investor, but have always been interesting in real-estate as a means of achieving financial independence and security.I have recently begun researching properties in Northeastern Pennsylvania (learning the rental market, home values, economic situation, etc) and have recently found a property that I feel would be a good first start for a buy & hold. 

That's to say, I had a vision of the way I wanted to live and my economic status.

There is no perfect answer, of course, but one should always be aware of the need for diversification as economic conditions change over time, by location, etc.  

Choose a market for it's economic and demographic fundamentals, not because you know someone there.

There is no way that a small commodity farmer can economically compete with the economies of scale of the big factory farms.But, if you can get 50 cents an ear for "field fresh" corn and the customers come to you, that's another story.

Not so much to ratio analysis but to the economic and financial aspects of asset management for small investors.

It's in a C neighborhood with a blue collar, industrial economic base (steel mill, trucking , etc)Rents should be 350-400 per unit.