Most first buyers pick a city because a guru named it or because they already live there. That is how you inherit someone else's insurance problem and a PHA that takes 90 days to answer email.
A PHA is the public housing authority that issues vouchers and pays HAP. HAP is the monthly subsidy check that goes to the owner after the file clears. You do not need to live in that PHA's city. You need four facts you can pull from a laptop.
First, pull the payment standard and the utility allowance for the bedroom sizes you will actually buy. I personally will never buy any unit that is not a three- or four-bedroom unit. Why? Because anything less will not present enough cash flow, and anything more is far greater than you need for a single-family home (SFH).
That leads into another good point: I would never recommend multi-family homes in the Section 8 world. Why? Because when you have people with "free housing," they will never choose to live with anyone else when they can find a home by themselves.
Payment standard is the cap the PHA uses when it tests your asking rent. Utility allowance is the estimate they subtract when the tenant pays some or all utilities. If those two numbers cannot support a cheap door after tax, insurance, and a small vacancy hold, skip the market. Do not fall in love with list price.
Second, call or email the PHA and ask three operator questions. How long from passed inspection to first HAP. Do they take owner packets by email. Who is the caseworker contact after RFTA. RFTA is the Request for Tenancy Approval, the packet that starts the official review.
Third, test vendor depth before you write an offer. You need one realtor who will do move in and keys, and one contractor who will do make ready, punch list, and cleaning. Ask each for a recent address they finished, photos, and a flat turn range. If you cannot find those two people in a week of calls, you do not have a market.
Fourth, price insurance like a local. Cheap doors die on nonrenewal. Get a quote on a real listing in that zip before you underwrite. If the quote blows your under $10k cash target, the market is not cheap. It is unfinished.
You can use a state you already understand as a control sample. Run the same four checks there and in the city you are considering. Keep the city that wins on PHA speed, insurance, and vendors. Not the city with the loudest podcast.
Remote is the filter. If the work cannot be directed by photo, video, email, and two local people, you are not buying a rental. You are buying a commute.
Actionable Takeaway
Open your PHA's payment standard PDF and one insurance quote on a real listing in the city you think you want. If either number kills the deal on paper, kill the market before you kill a Saturday.