You would do much better yourself to personally manage or find a local management company.

The legal and regulatory aspects of selling a home, including managing the necessary paperwork and ensuring compliance with local laws, can be a bit overwhelming.

Identify properties that need renovation, improve them, and sell for a profit.Before making a decision, thoroughly analyze the local market, consider your investment goals, and consult with a local real estate agent or investment advisor.

I know without a doubt that the ARV would be high (well kept houses go for 500k or so in the area) but my realtor thought that unless they were selling it for 20k, the reno costs would be too much to possibly break even.I reached out to an investor-friendly realtor locally to see if they can help guide my thinking here.

In some instances, being the small local guy can be more beneficial.

SBA via local bank.

If you can invest locally and be happy with the return, I would go with that option.

I'd echo the advice already given.Start hanging out with the local investor community and start talking with RE brokers and lenders who have experience and expertise in the strategy you land on.In your case, I'd take a serious look at househacking.

First, the cons of C-class, aside from section 8, C-class has more fluctuation in price, more tenant problems (vacancy expenses, evictions, etc), and local crime.

It sounds like a whole new set of challenges such as finding builders and starting the business from scratch.Next steps:I could really use some recommendations from this group:We need to find an agent/broker, CPA and lawyer that has experience with thisWe are already speaking to 2 local banks about SBA and conventional loans but are there other options or folks we can speak to?