The city came out and determined that the problem was actually on the city property, and not ours (the tree was outside our property line and so were the cracks in the pipes.)

Maybe every city is like that, but for me more than almost any other city I have been too I think you really have to know the area and have to know the tenant base. 

Hello Jaycee, Open to most areas other than north city.

So that rules out areas like City Heights / Skyline / etc.4) Parking - make sure you scope out the parking situation before you buy.

You'd probably need to talk to a contractor and the City. 

For my clients, in every city I am set-up in I have an agent who pulls all the comps and writes up an opinion on the value based on size, area, finishes, market. 

You're not going to know the whole city from one visit but you may be able to identify and drive one or two strong "buy" locations for yourself.Best of luck!

They city required that I replace the best sidewalks in the neighborhood under the program and the cost was substantially higher than estimates I obtained on my own. 

If salt lake city is a low cap rate market then its impossible.

You could hire property management and probably still do well although I am not sure of the options in that city.- If I use a 1031 Exchange, does the next property also have to be a duplex?