Your attorney(s) should be able to advise the proper location and structure, which may vary from state to state.While there are reasons to go wider, I suggest you narrow down to a couple of states or preferably a smaller area than that.

When I asked him why wouldn’t they just stay at MGM like a normal person, he said there’s this group of people who prefer the privacy of a non-commercial property lease.

Some 4 units in my market start around the $200k point so could even buy 2 of those instead of 4-8 single families.It’s all your preference based upon your goals, but overall the Midwest is a great market.

For my long term holds, I prefer a 30 yr mortgage with lower rates as I want to lock in long term on that. 

On the other hand, if it's totally within my rights to keep the whole deposit, given they are breaking a 12-month lease after 1 month and that I've done everything in my power to address their issues in a timely manner, that would be preferable.

You could scale into a larger deal, get a preferred return with a lower risk profile, and possibly get bonus depreciation the first year as well.

Now, that home sold for $1.7M after holding it for 6 years.At this point in my life, I would probably prefer dependable cash flow and more passive so it's why I don't mind investing out of state even though I know Orange County, CA like the back of my hand and have a real estate license so that helps quite a bit.

I don’t want to run around the entire state to look at house and would like to narrow down to just a few zip codes…  I prefer to start in Maryland because I live here… I am seeing tons of stuff in Baltimore city for sale and that actually makes me worry a little.. can they not rent or do some people only want to flip houses?  

But if you have one you prefer you can always ask, just not force.  

Preferable 3 Br, 2Bth.