Ensure you fully understand the tax consequences between LTR, STR, and flipping properties. 

They get taxed in the year they receive their money.  

At 7.5% your monthly payment is around $1,400 not including taxes or insurance.

Can't use bonus depreciation but could use accelerated depreciation and get most (not all) of my rental income tax free.

A lot of these markets are also landlord friendly and offer lower taxes as well. 

One of the most over looked things is looking at blended rate IF you are consolidating debt.

1) Who's paying real estate taxes?

Then get hit with the capital gains tax, but then when you buy second property and live in there 2 years and sell, do you get to transfer over the 2 years no tax benefit since you did not use it on the first property?

I use the rental calculator all the time to analyze deals as well as some of the other features and then write off the costs as education at tax time.

Or, you can do something like a debt service loan that looks more at the income potential of the property - FICO will still be a factor, but not the other stuff I mentioned.