You may have legal issues as well in your area, don't screw up your professional reputation.

If you fail in #2 of your plan, you may need to add a #3B) Sell the smelly POS house becuase Mitch screwed up.

Accounting can mess you up, how you manage can be an issue, operating outside your stated business purpose can leave you hanging, improperly executing a document can present issues and all these aspects can carry through to other operations, once you screw up, you can kill future liability protection as they look back to an issue.

I was thinking - if I'm a good landlord (repairs made in a timely manner, follow laws, don't screw tenants) renting at a fair price in an okay neighborhood, there is nothing wrong with that.

@Lamonte Evans,You are on the right track about to give the home owner some walking cash, but you will have people say don't give the home owner anything just screw them and those people that think like that is doing it base on their personal greed.Joe Gore

Like @Shaun Reilly said, it screws all the other landlords out there who actually keep their properties updated and treat their tenants with respect.

You are looking to buy for cash flow so getting accurate rents are important.I learned lessons the hard way that once you owned the property suddenly the managers couldn't rent the place out for what they told you and were suggesting a drop in the asking amount which really screws up your numbers.

Appraisers are not out to screw you on your home values.

The problem is that with my changing schedule, it has been very tough for me to get everything done so I am looking for some good contractors that I can count on (I have been screwed at least once by a plumber and don't want to repeat that experience again). 

Stop screwing around with the small deals and go for the big stuff.