Focused on cash flow from the start over future appreciation, no rent control.Out of those examples, what other criteria questions should I be asking him and in your opinion which of these should carry the most and least weight?

Absentee Owners have been popular for a long time, and are apparently still somewhat effective (people are still mailing to them).There are some owner-occupied segments with people who share motivating factors for selling their home.

Many are well represented by sellers & turnkey operators here on BiggerPockets (myself included) The most popular markets are Cleveland (my market)ToledoMemphisBirminghamKCIndyDetroitEach of these markets is popular with turnkey investors because of the low barrier to entry, high rental demand & high rent to price ratio.

They seem to be popular rentals for flight school students at ft rucker.What do these generally cost to rehab?

Mail takes money but it has proven effective IF you get good lists.While Absentee Owners with Equity have been the most popular for years, the problem is that too many people are mailing to the same people and selling to each other.Consider working with a list broker who can make better suggestions for your market. 

Syndications have never been more popular. 

A popular rural area if that makes sense.

The home is in a very popular suburb of Denver where I should be able to get 2000 - 2200 a month in rent. 

Smooth drywall ceilings, which take more skill to do correctly, are more popular these days in the higher price range.

Out of state turnkey is popular for the reasons you listed - your home market is overpriced and if you're going to go turnkey anyway, might as well do it in a market where your capital can go further.I always recommend that you make the trip to visit your top one or two choices for turnkey providers once you've done the legwork of narrowing down your choices.