However I don't think I could research as well or make as educated of a decision buying a first property as far away as Texas or Georgia -due to logistics of working a full time job with little vacation time to get away and learn markets in far away states.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with the assumptions in some of the other posts as to the characteristics of a low income/Section 8 renter and what amenities should or should not be provided based on your decision to rent to this population.

There's a lot to consider when trying to make the right decisions when it comes to real estate investing.

The house is still cold during this cold weather only because its an old house, poor insulation...

@Duncan Taylor can you give us an exact example of how this data would lead to influencing a decision you would make; or even better, it making the decision for you?

. :-)So I've come to absolutely despise the banks when they hit me with that.Now you've got some poor homeowner thats going to despise you if they don't get their dream house?

I would much rather have rentals outside of an HOA, as these add additional costs and limit your flexibility with the property (have to send any exterior decisions to a committee, sometimes cannot rent OR can have ability to rent revoked by committee vote).Aside from that, the main things I see are 40K for 1 property grossing $675/mo or 2 properties for 45K grossing $1000/mo.

Today our agent came to ask us about it because she said they've been calling her every day and want to know if we have a decision.

Banks sometimes make very odd decisions.

Look at the ROI and make a decision based on the numbers.