Great insights @Marcus Auerbach I chatted with a few property managers in the area and received similar "drama" feedback. So much, they wouldn't even cover the areas I was evaluating.
A big red flag for the deal I was considering was the seller kept insisting the property is "as is" and wouldn't provide any history of repairs. Sounds very much in line with your point - "property that is still in okay shape and collect the cash flow until the property is starting to need repairs and then quickly sell it. This way you can 'milk' the asset for a few years and defer improvements to the next owner.".
This deal wasn't the right opportunity, but I will still consider class C & D properties in the future. The trick is to not make irrational bets just based on the gross cash flow numbers. Good risk & level of effort assumptions also need to be heavily considered when making these deals.
