Lots of appreciation potential, new development & properties, new metro connecting from Washington DC.

It would be for a development.

Just be careful and run your numbers with an extra padding if you invest in IL.

The question now is to work with your tax advisor on developing a strategy to minimize those taxes, and put more money back in your pocket.

Or if you wanted, developing a new campground.

Does this naive suggestion elicit uncontrollable laughter from the experienced developers who are reading it? 

And right now i'm concerned that if i nab an extra $1200 a year out of this while living there that it could be the worst $1200 i've ever made.This would be a moot point if i wasn't owner occupying the unit, or if they were already paying close to market rents and i only had to increase by 5% to stay current.

You need to be mindful of that, and develop a strategy to ensure you can deduct interest.

Percentages vary depending on your strategy but here is generally how I use my excess cash from this portfolio: Say you have extra 1,000 bucks after paying your monthly expenses and putting aside money for reserves: I split it out in the following manner. 1) Additional rainy day fund for CAPEX and repairs. 10% 2) Additional Acquisitions budget 50% 3) Additional Debt paydown 25% 4) Stocks / Bonds/ Pay myself. 15% I definitely prescribe to the pay myself first , and have a more conservative approach when dealing with debt .

Price / Rent Ratio - lower the better Avg Median Income - feeds into #2, not as important on its ownAvg Median Price - feeds into #2, not as important on its ownAvg Median Rent - feeds into #2, not as important on its ownRent % of Income - rent should be >1/3 of incomeSociodemographic Rank - should be high (used this article)Population Growth - should outpace US average (used this site)Jobs Growth - highger the better (used Forbes data: example)Law Favorability - should be landlord-friendly (used Avail: example)State Tax Favorability - should be favorable (used this article)Poverty Level - should be low (used city-data.com)Crime - should be below US average of 290 (used city-data.com)Industries Present - should be diverse (used city-data.com) Here are the markets I evaluated: Bend, ORGreenville, SCCharlotte, NCMeridian, IDMidland, TXSpartanburg, SCHuntsville, ALKent, WAWithout any further delay, here is my market analysis laid out with selection criteria and markets: As you can see, the Top 2 Markets are: Meridian, IDCharlotte, NCand they are mostly green across the board, hitting all selection criteria, at a reasonable purchase price for my first investment at a young age.Now that I've completed a brief analysis, I'm looking to dive into deal finding and developing my Core 4.What are your thoughts on my preliminary market analysis?