Unless it's incredibly obvious who is doing what, I.E. 

There are some great rental neighborhoods and there are also some incredibly blighted areas.

When it comes to investing in real estate the primary benefits of the US market comparatively are 1. costs of debt 2. rent rates relative to property values (not in the Bay Area as much as in other parts of US) and 3. gov stability (which is perhaps a bit laughable right now I suppose).There are some incredible and easy ways to invest out of state, but it all comes down to having a "team" you can rely on (like @David Greene talks about in The Book on Long Distance Real Estate Investing.   

I fell into it accidentally a few years ago when my neighbor moved and wanted to sell me his single wide trailer and land.

Incredible REI Strategy.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6510-Millwood-Rd-Cumming-GA-30041/14644157_zpid/  The sellers agent says it is a stick built house but it really really looks like a double wide to me in some ways. 

Any advice or direction would be incredibly valuable to me regarding possible entry strategies from people who have been there, done that.

@Scott Kelley so the likelihood of picking up a newer home under market value is unlikely if it's on the MLS or has wide exposure to buyers.

Military benefits are incredible if used correctly.

I’ve already researched a wide range of my county and I can easily get a decent duplex in living conditions for $220-300k (NO awful HOA), depending on how high I want to go and what my ROI could be.