@Annette BarnettExcellent.Remember real estate is a long term game.The finish line is 5 to 10 years from now not next year.If I may offer one other suggestion:While I totally support diversification when investing, there is also a big advantage to drill deep rather than spread thin especially with smaller properties.I believe there is lots of reason to invest in a narrow geographic focus.In every new market you invest in, you need to form a new team - real estate broker, property manager, contractor, insurance broker etc etc etc.And learn a new market.If you are happy with your Indy investment and your Indy team, buy another property there.

After you figure out those non-negotiables, you will start to notice trends and will narrow in on a market or two. 

Perhaps someone else is able to narrow the scope of this discussion a bit and add a comment.

It looks like you are in the research phase, narrow down to 10-15 areas book a flight and put feet on the ground.  

This should help you understand the reasons behind that as you start to narrow down the types of properties and price points you're interested in.Good luck out there man.

If I were to search for deals I would narrow in on a specific area and get really familiar with that market.

So, what I would do would be to narrow down to some cities you feel good about then call the city to see if this would be an easy process (going from 1 to 2-4 unit zoning), and then see what they say..

Haven't been burned yet (I appealed it and there's a three-year wait they're so backlogged) but in the top unit of my duplex there's a third floor bedroom (a nice, finished attic) and the steps leading up to it are a few inches too narrow according to the inspector. 

If they were going to measure anything they should start with the houses that are built so the first floor is 7' off the sidewalk and have 10 narrow winding brick steps up to the first floor.

@David Guerrero introduced me to my Delaware realtor and fellow BP member @Shawn McDonnell While we were still in Colorado Shawn helped us narrow down our search to find something that fit our rather specific criteria.