I know it seems rather obvious, that you want to buy a house, however you ought to consider the difficulty as a blessing and focus your acquisition efforts at buying with seller financing.

How difficult is it to attract tenants to this location, and would these things make it more attractive even if you can't charge a premium?

It's not without it's difficulties, but otherwise it's been a great investment.

If so, what have been your greatest difficulties (setting up bank accounts, filing income taxes, etc.)?

I'm having difficulty determining if I'm entitled to either none, all or at least 3/4 (since i live in 1/4) of the write offs when I file taxes next year.Any ideas?

How difficult is it to get the funds there when you need them?  

The manner in which you purchase the house will have some bearing on your exit strategy.Actually, I'm having some difficulty following your scenario.

The HVAC initially wasn't too difficult.

Is anyone else having difficulty transferring the ticket to someone else?

In order to investigate this option, thoroughly investigate the market, establish investment criteria, assemble a local team of experts, investigate financing options, investigate potential properties with due diligence, and be mindful of potential risks like difficulties with remote management, market fluctuations, tenant turnover, and regulatory variances.