There are other schools of thought, but I think when you're just starting out, the best location is somewhere close enough for you to drive to.

On the thanksgiving vacation, I'm going to drive down to Florida, and look for a properties that I can live on one side and rent out the other. 

Deep Pockets Landlord.

Since the home cannot be rented for a year it allowed the year for improvements to drive up rental income.

I bet if you put some work into this that you'd find out they have some account deep in the balance sheet that where all the unused funds from that 7% accumulate or that was a plan. 

I'm rooting for you!

Always easier to succeed close to home.Also, unless you plan to pursue STR market, up north doesn't offer comparable returns to the Metro Detroit market.You might want to follow the "Deep Dive" series we're doing on our BiggerPockets blog about Metro Detroit cities, City of Detroit Neighborhoods and comparing Metro Detroit to other hotspots investors usually consider:https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

These inspections typically take place with the occupying tenant present and may allow them to address concerns that you, as a property owner, may not have known about otherwise.You can also perform drive-by inspections without needing to coordinate with the tenant to address any concerns with the exterior upkeep of the property.Document It is always a good idea to document every interaction with a tenant and any and all work done during their occupancy of the property.

Besides legalities, is cost and ROI the driving factor in the majority, if not all of your repair and upgrade decisions?

I just recently have been using a list of pre-foreclosures/ foreclosures cold calling and driving for dollars.