We have great colleges too-and prices around those colleges are decent, usually you can find a 3 bedroom 2 bath home below $200k near the University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska Omaha, and Creighton University.

The units are in decent shape, but nothing fancy.

Your propsoed $210 buy price for investor is 87.5% of the alleged value of $240k10% may be a decent amount of equity for a newbie investor that doesn't know any better.Also, you may want to run your offering through one of the BiggerPockets rental calculators to determing ROI, Cash-on-Cas, etc. 

I find myself driving out there a decent amount and spending a lot more time than I wanted.

Get a good handyperson and you will be set.AirBNB and VRBO both have decent apps to manage the property, the bookings and communication with guests.

I have 3 roommates and it covers a decent part of my mortgage on a single family house.

Since you make decent money don't be anxious to jump into real estate.

I'm looking to make my first foray into RE investing, having spent a decent amount of time analyzing potential properties.

Your price points seem very low (you are in TX), so these costs are a decent percentage.

I've got a decent network going so far here - would love to connect and share.