Upon moving in, my roommates were surprised when I didn't claim the master bedroom for myself--I couldn't bear to take that room knowing that it would bring in the most rent.

Certain companies you study can tell you what the market place is up to..Like Goldman Sachs,Bear Stearns, JP Morgan, HSBC, Duetsche bank and others I wont go into a long rant on.

We moved here in 2008 and I know for certain that Bear Creek has flooded 4 times now including Harvey - witnessed it. 

401ks are a Federal 'thing'... so Florida will have little bearing on your situation.  

It's a bear.

I think the thing that may help you get started is trying to figure out what your end goals may be. Are

@Brittany TompkinsAll the rental companies in Big Bear advertise 30%.

And if that is an interest bearing account, you have to provide the tenants their fair share once/if they move out and are eligible to receive their security deposit.

If you do everything right and things don't work out, that's bad luck, but over time it'll bear way more fruit than someone who does bad work, gets lucky, and considers that a path to success. 

I know we like to classify property like they are commercial properties .. but what are you buying C's Bs and you know some markets Cs are Bs in others and Ds in others.Your spot on with regard to community banks... most have it right in their lending charter they can only loan to those that live and work in the footprint which is usually within 100 miles of the market.PM is the key and bears repeating.. also remote rehab as you stated can be everything from semi rewarding to down right risky to downright wipe out.. this is why turnkey is so popular granted you can garner some delta between cost and turnkey mark up but you have to have the time and ability to do that and its not realistic for beginners or those buying just a few properties.