HI @Ananth SubramanianI have not been in your shoes but have read others that have and from what it sounds like getting the judgement is the easy part and physically collecting the $$ from the tenants is the hardest most impossible part.

Hence if the lease clearly has terms against this and section 8 is supporting the rent, that is your best bet to ensure the tenant complies with the lease.

I bet you would. 

Do we focus on flipping, (currently we have actually been trying to do this, but we physically can't find enough contractors in our smaller market <100K population to do that much work).

I wish someone had told me about this when I bought my first place.I run a Property Management company and would only recommend a property mgr if you are cash positive or physically cannot tend to the property.  

I can have multiple one use code for contractors so I can control access without physically going there.You do not need to carry the key, just need to keep track all codesMain disadvantage is that the locking requires the door to close properly, otherwise the tenant may not know the door is not licked.

This is the BEST $100 you will ever spend, and if you listen to Amanda Han's tax book, you'll know it's also likely a business expense for you to write off :) https://biggerpockets.supercast.com/My perfect way to learn from the BP books is to listen to the audio book through the subscription above, then books that really stand out to me I go old school and get the physical copy so that I can re-read it, take notes in the margins, and put post it notes so key points are easier for me to re-reference in the future.

Just like doubling down on a bet you could lose it all. 

Your best bet is in the midwest or southeast.

This options seems to be your best bet considering all other factors.