I go to Norfolk frequently for work (DoD civilian) and would like to get to know this market. 

Here are some other things that could go wrong which may cause failures:Unknown necessary repairs (i.e. sewer lines, roof, etc)Not having cash reserves to cover vacancies / major repairsUptick of crime / vandalism in neighborhoodVandalism of propertyInfestations (pests, other)Bad tenants / No tenants / tenant family issue impacting stay (i.e. death, divorce)Rezoning of school districts / Loss of accreditation of school district Insufficient Property Management (not addressing tenants concerns, no notification of repairs timely - causing further damage, etc)Not following market pricing on rental / raising rent to frequently or too much at onceLegal issues (i.e. tenants sue for injuries on property, taxation, etc) I think you get the idea.

Hi Daniel, Absolutely, I frequent Boston's back bay several times each quarter for corporate meetings.

What I ended up doing was taking buckets of bleach water and "mopping" the walls and ceilings.Change the water frequently and go a bit heavy on the bleach.

Is that something you get frequently?

@Josh Hooper I'm frequently on Zillow/Redfin looking for Duplex's.

Also, I don't know of the specific "rules" about loans that one bank has vs. another because they always seem to vary so much and change so frequently.

Also, check craigslist frequently for leads.

We're also mailing a bit more frequently (every three weeks) and they are absentee owned so I'm sure we're not the only mail piece they are getting lol.My partner and I have been driving for dollars for about a month building our own list of distressed properties.

In addition to reading all the great information here, start reaching out to people and making time to meet with the frequent posters here.