New investor seeking purchase criteria

[Ryan Daulton]

I am a new real estate investor looking to buy my first multi-family home as a long-term rental.  I live in a town of 128k only, in Abilene, TX.  Abilene is a college town with 3 private colleges (plus community colleges).  There is one major medical center in town.  Because I do not want to operate this as a short-term rental, I'm not sure how many college students would be interested.  Also, out of town patients would not be interested in a long-term rental.  Is there a metric that records what percentage of rentals are occupied on average on any given day?

What are some of the key metrics to look for in a multi-family?  For example, which of the below metrics is most important if I'm wanting this property to cash flow?  Income to Price, Median Income, Median Rent, RTP, Annual Rent to Income, and Unemployment?  

I'm trying to determine if Abilene is a good area for me to purchase.  Median income: $57k, Median Price: $134k, Median rent: $949, RTP: 0.71%, annual rent to income: 19.85%, population growth: 0.83%, unemployment: 3.90%