As others have said, the best thing your son can do is run far from this deal, buckle down, save his pennies (he probably already is doing this), house-hack, and improve a property with sweat, hard work, developing a DIY skillset, and self-managing tenants. 

I doubt you'll make 11% with the S&P, but it is probably still your best bet.

But at the end of the day, I'm not going to let taxes dictate where I am going to buy real estate...it's probably best to just look at things like job growth, population, stable economy, etc.  

The neighbor will probably be thrilled with that .

But after a flip, you will probably sit on the market for a while depending on the location approximate nearest city. 

Also I have not worked out the financing yet. if I just use my cash then the Cash on Cash drops to 8 or 9% and that would be below my Cash on Cash target.Generally speaking and of course just numbers I picked out of the air for reference when running numbers in my head, I am looking for Cash on Cash greater than 15%, high probability of long term occupancy, and no expected major Capex for 2.5 years after purchase and purchase time repairs which I would add into the cash on cash evaluation before pulling the trigger.So there are some more details to be worked out in my head but being it is my first one and only learning what I could from youtube videos I thought I would get some feedback.With all that said, in my head it seems like it could be a good start.Thanks again Jaycee and Gavin for your feedback.

i wish i had better news for you but it's probably not feasible in the short term to replace your W2 income with rental income. 

If I'm paying $150 to turn a rental, you would probably have to be sub $100 for me to give you a shot.

Thanks Jaycee,I think to start I am probably looking at a single family just to get my feet wet.

maybe... but you probably won't get a 'great price' in a random out of state market just by looking on Zillow like everyone else is.