What kind of research do you do to avoid buying property in an area that might be difficult to rent?

No but you need to understand that it increases your risk and your costs. 

They are tearing down the Viaduct and you will have difficult access trying to get out of town. 

I'm curious if you have any advice on focusing my attention to another market; do you think it's too difficult for a beginner?

there is value add for sure but they are all small apartments so won’t increase drastically looking at $50 per apt prprobably at most in the near future.

You want to review income statement from HOA before acquiring the property as many kept increasing fees to the point it is not worth owning a rental as business.

I know a lot of these people are going through a difficult time so I want to make sure I am asking the right questions.I know there are a lot of people here who are closing multiple wholesale deals a week.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to know if the county is outdated unless you ask other investors in your market.

This significantly increases the real cost of the property and you'd need to include these costs into your financial model.

This is also a bit of a destination, as it is right on the WA coastline, so Airbnb has potential.All in all, I'm confident that I can increase my net to 92k annually, and after expenses and debt service (partial commercial, partial seller carry), this puts me at ~$2,500 a month cash flow.