I believe the Midwest is an excellent place to start due to its lower entry point and strong cash flow potential. 

Happy to chat with you about potential areas that may interest you.

Or is it better to use a professional texting service to potentially avoid legal responsibilities? 

I would advise you if this is with a family member who is really on board assess whether the family member is a good fit.

Of those 4, only 1 was qualified and they ghosted me on the day of the showing.We're house hacking this property so I'm being careful about screening, which may be a turn off for some potential tenants. (6 questions pre-screening form, followed by a short phone screen and set up showing before requesting application)We aren't in a crazy rush to get this filled, as the mortgage is manageable and we're using it as our residence, but after a week at our lower price I am considering dropping it again.Another concern I have is how 90% of the inquiries I get are from Facebook.

I must be missing something here because previous potential buyers realized these problems right away. 

If you have a day to day job that you really like then the loan pay down, equity buildup and potential for appreciation, as well as the tax benefits may be more important to you. 

It looks like there is a fair amount of concrete and brick which may be salvageable after two years, but it is worth getting someone in the know out there to do an assessment 

I am planning on getting a degree in interior design to help increase my success and potential in house flipping.

The city is protecting the potential clean up expense and that is backed by state law.