The income the property generates is the key factor if a bank can qualify.

You forgot to mention that, the most important factor

It is a factor to protect your self by a lawsuit or a failure of your business.  

I would factor in other expenses as well such as water, landscaping, maintenance, vacancy, and capex.

Do you only care about the interest rate or are other factors like being able to bid online, how noticing is handled, are lawyers needed, the ease of foreclosing, the time before you can begin foreclosure etc etc all need to be asked. 

i have to schedule a visit cos i honestly cant even estimate the repair cost (which i must factor into my offer) before i can even make an offer. i will have my agent make that appointment happen.

@Rahul Dilawri Welcome to BP....you will find this very useful and helpful...With regard to your question I will agree with @Reginald Pintang and @Dhru Das.Definition of 'good area for investment' is very subjective because it can be defined based on multiple factors such as Cash Flow, ROI (for fix and flip), appreciation rate, safety/crime rate etc.Of course it largely depends on your long term goals.

The most important macro level factors that I consider are 1.

Thanks Cerwin, I'll certainly take those factors into consideration.

In my eyes all the renovation costs will be paid from the proceeds of the building so it only becomes a factor when I want to sell?