When the kids graduated, they BOUGHT a less expensive house much closer to work, but in an inferior school district.   

My husband and I want to buy and hold properties in the capital district.

I’m a realtor and investor (11 Doors w/ 7 in Coronado) and would say check out the Coronado neighborhood or other historic districts in central Phoenix.

Fast forward to this week- I have found a bank that has seems to have a promising outlook on giving me a loan for around 100k, I have a property in my sights - it is in a great area of town , in a historic district, completely remodeled and should pull close to 1100-1200 a month.

Mobile home deal: Lot  purchase, moving fees, home purchase and everything was about $40,000Rents for $800, Latest CMA value of $94,000Great school district and all around good area.

The Northside ISD and Northeast ISD are two of the best school districts in San Antonio.

The house is in a very desirable school district, has a brand new roof, needs about 50k in rehab and would ARV about 415k.  

I'm not sure if you've already run into this issue, but most of Boston's districts will require you to get a variance for making the basement additional living area and it if you rearrange the means of egress you might be required to install sprinklers. 

Notice how the plant just happened to be in Speaker Ryan's district, not the district of some obscure, powerless congressman?  

This is why flipping can be very easy in some places (Gentrifying neighborhoods in DC, PG County along the DC Border) and near impossible in other places (Much of Montgomery County)I find that the areas that are very very desireable to live in, where you have the top schools in the area, like Rockville, lower Silver Spring, Fairfax, Herndon...basically the wealthy suburbs, the prices in a particular neighborhood will not have a huge variance based on condition...and this is because people buy the house regardless simply for the school district, location, county amenities.