From what I understand, most major banks will not allow them.At the end of the day, your decision is based on what your ultimate goals are.  

New condos, mixed-use office space, hotels, parks, pedestrian/biker friendly European style roads, and walking bridges are all under construction right now.

If you went to visit your property, you could end up like Mussolini did at the conclusion of WW2 in the European theater. 

Maybe it's my Eastern European upbringing. ;)

What was founded as an Eastern European neighborhood eventually changed to Mexican/Hispanic.

I had a similar situation; after calling most major banks/lenders, and getting "no actuary will every approve that," I was able to work it out with a local Credit Union. 

My 401k is a well diversified portfolio, it has bonds and stocks, it has stocks from emerging markets, European and Asian markets, US markets.

If not is this something BiggerPockets might be considering - maybe a European arm or something?

If you are a surgeon making $200,000 a year then you can probably pay most major expenses out of your monthly income.Everyone's financial situation and risk level is different.

those type of homes are all throughout houston... id believe the agent i went to see a house once that was listed 100k, it got done 105k ... about the same 1600 sqft 3 bed 2 bath ... the house had a tarp on the roof, it was raining and leaking in, foundation problems all over... whoever bought that would need to put in 50k at least if not more.but if it rents for say 1350-1400 a month, then there will be an investor willing to do that deal and roll with the riskcap rates in houston are pretty low and in most major metros are much lower while there is still a ton of money everywhere looking to find yield