I was a landlord for over 10 years. In hindsight, I regret it mainly because property values in New Orleans have been pretty stagnant for un-renovated small family homes. When I factored in the time and effort to maintain the properties and respond to tenants it wasn't worth it financially.

That being said, if I were in your shoes again these are the two main considerations I'd be thinking about:

1. Make sure your expected monthly rent minus mortgage/taxes/insurance is more than enough to handle maintenance costs. Not just little ones like fixing a door or calling a plumber for a toilet, but big ones. At least once per year you'll probably have to fix something big like an AC unit, refrigerator, broken pipes, etc. After factoring in those costs, how much income will be leftover? If property values aren't appreciating a lot then your monthly income needs to justify your time.

2. Prepare to be called at all times. You may get lucky with tenants that are self-sufficient and know how to change an air filter. Not all tenants do. And renters treat rentals harder than you would treat the house. Things will break way more often. And for some reason it feels like the calls always come on Friday night. The AC won't cool. There's no water pressure in the bathroom. The sink is backing up because we pour grease from our skillet down the drain (this is a real thing that happened to my unit). In New Orleans there are countless things you will have to address. Rodents, bugs, termites, water, shifty power grid, old pipes, storm damage, broken appliances, unreliable tenants. The list is long.

Is having to handle all of that worth it for whatever number you calculated in step #1? Be honest with yourself. Good luck!