The remainder of the post should not be construed as legal advise because I only give advise when I speak to someone in person.

Generally speaking much of the areas east of 205 are going to be seeing gentrification purely from the result of people looking for cheaper housing.

If you're just starting out, you'd be better off finding something with less rehab, in the best quality asset class you can afford, and make sure the deal still works with a PM company to manage it.

This is going to sound like a shameless plug, but it is true that agents will bring you much higher quality tenants since they will be pre-screened. 

The area is a small town ( under 4,000) in Nebraska but it's between 2 major cities and the town itself has plenty of new construction taking place as we speak!

Focus on cash flow and on quality, don't buy junk, just because it's cheap. 

I highly suggest adding on Vandalism coverage and make sure you speak with your agent about how the policy coverage works and does not work. 

And I agree with other posters, he should consider motivational speaking!

And if you want to talk about the quality of tenant, The one is a TSA agent and his wife is a teacher.

Best regards,  Hi Anthony, one of toughest parts of this business is finding quality assets from reputable sellers.