I currently live in a market where housing has exploded and rents are off the chart.

I think they do a lot of work in high rise buildings where clearing a line affects 20 units at a time. 

Most banks have restrictions and a Clause where the mortgage/loan becomes "Due on Sale".The biggest benefit of going from personal to LLC is to protect your assets against a law suit due to an injury or death by someone renting or using the property.

So out of state investors: what other data points/research do you use to determine where to invest? 

Find a property where the numbers make sense, get some input from a local realtor, and pull the trigger.Yes numbers can get better next year, or they might not.

Where the manufacturers/builders tend to get frustrated is when they are finding about this last minute and you the customer ends up in the middle of a finger pointing disagreement where you dont know who is right or wrong.  

In many places, giving proper notice that you're not renewing the lease is perfectly acceptable, but specifics vary by location.Another option to consider is "cash for keys," where you offer the tenant a financial incentive to leave early.

I am partial to east Dallas as that is where I live and house hacked for years (before it was called house hacking!)

However, when you pull up the current market, you see that nothing comparable has sold in the past 6 months, and that the currently listed properties have been on market for far too long, meaning this is an area where there are no buyers, no appetite for these homes.

But, at the same time, society marches on.