And the tricky part is that these neighborhoods look largely the same as much safer neighborhoods because they are limited to only a few blocks scattered throughout the city.  

Thinking of doing this with my four-unit in Jersey City and here are some scattered thoughts I've been considering:* Trying it with just one unit first before expanding to the whole building* Posting it for lease as a LTR and a MTR simultaneously, then seeing where the interest falls and buying the furnishings for MTR once demand is proven* Going to the local hospital to talk to employees there, and potentially put up flyersOverall, I think it is a great way to boost revenue and I agree with your intuition that the added work of self-managing is worth the squeeze compared to offloading to a property manager.

Also, keep in mind you can portfolio properties that scattered city not only in one city, but across multiple cities and states.

Really though, there are loads of "Active Adult" 55+ communities scattered throughout the area, both mobile home park and the SFH variety.Aside from the Phoenix area, it might not hurt to look into the Tucson market as well, depending on what your goals are.

Do you guys manage properties in scattered locations?

That said, I would be hesitant to use this product on any type of scattered set lot plan or in communities of other stick built as I would tend to think you would see a market discount based on the mental barrier of the public that I mentioned above.

Then there are a few other scattered gambling venues (Ft.

My family was in the development business for years and has all sorts of scattered lots 100 plus o them odds and ends in CA.. every year in the counties they worked in I check the tax overages.. ( we never pay tax's on those.) and sure enough some one not so bright has paid some big money for a sliver of land.. and My 82 YO mother gets a nice bonus check from the county.

Scattered around different properties. 

Black sharp granite shards were left evenly scattered on our driveway.