One source of cities to avoid is Neighborhood Scout's 100 most dangerous cities.Disaster Risk - Some parts of the country suffer frequent natural disasters.

Court gave judgement in favor of the second mortgage bank allowing them to foreclose.

I'm partial to Metro Detroit where we'll see that both in the actual city and in many of the ring suburbs; however, while it isn't as commonplace as it used to be, there are still markets out there in a bunch of places across the country where it works. 

Have valid reasoning for the restriction and apply it evenly to anyone who applies, so it holds up in court. 

Because I work remotely, I could invest in potentially any area of the country, although I've been mostly looking at Saint Louis, MO since it's a city I was already considering moving to.

I am looking to keep current zoning and not deal with the headache as I learn, so looking for 7)  5-acre lots bring a country road, power, and fiber.

Here's what we do (copied from our website):Screening ApplicantsPoor screening often results in lost rents, legal & court costs and costly damages.Screening of applicants includes the following:Full credit/eviction/criminal checks are done, instead of score-driven reportsVerification of rental history includes validation of actual property owner to avoid fraudVerification of stability of income & employment via YTD paystubs & W-2(s) (analyzed to confirm not fakes)Income is calculated 3 ways to spot stability anomalies: pay period, YTD average and YTD + W-2 average.Debt-to-income analysis (more accurate than traditional 3x rent requirement)Bank statement to see if NSF issues, if deposits support income, prove MoveIn Funds, also analyzed for unusual transactions.Pet screeningHolding Fee required from approved applicants to make sure they are serious, before your property is marked pending.

Hey Chris, Just an update for you and anyone else who comes across this thread in the next 9 years: My plan on the loophole on the hazard abatement might have worked but was risky and I don't think would have held up in court.

It's like musical chairs and this will keep driving prices until the market finds an equillibirium between supply and demand, which all free markets will do over time, but since supply and demand are not that flexible it has to be price that will reduce demand until we are balanced.Milwaukee is also seeing a little bit of an increase in imigration due to climate change: smoke, fires, drought, hurricanes, floods, fresh water - in combination with remote work and low cost of housing compared to most of the country.

West Loop is literally one of the hottest markets in the country right now if not the world.