Even going with a company like Midsouth, it is always a good idea to have someone on your team that can give insight into the market and the area. 

It's tough with a market like that to start in.

Building permits, a leading indicator of future construction activity, were up by 1.5% to 1.80 million units.Rent costs rising over the past few years could finally be hitting the consumer's wallet in that they are becoming weaker and unable to afford higher rents.Also, looking at the housing starts data, new supply may be entering the market finally, causing prices to drop as consumers have more options. 

@Hansel Gunawan BiggerPockets has many articles to help give broad analyses on various markets. 

I've started my journey in the expensive Seattle market and found house hacking a duplex gave me a tremendous boost as my first property.The top 10 advantages that played out quite well:1.

I'm gonna make some money with a local or web business and wait until we get some blood in the water in the housing market.

You should know markets and understand rentals business well.

It sounds like you won't have any trouble qualifying..In Oregon there are some tenant laws that can restrict active CAP rates, but those with current market rents (or that can attain them near term) can approach double digit return rates.

I would look into the Columbus market. 

What are your thoughts on the Kansas City market?