I found one area I really like but the homes are so old I am worried about repairs eating into my roi.

And there is less to maintain, and cost to get in is generally cheaper.The downside, is the HOA fees will eat a lot of cash flow, the turn over is higher I've found as they would rather live in a house than a complex.

Not $2,700 worth of difficult for sure and I could do it in 2 days max including assembly of the cabinets.Had a bid for $800 to tear down the top 2/3 of the brick facade; took us 1 1/2 hours with a hammer drill.Bottom line, hiring contractors would probably eat away about $20k in profit if I hired them vs DIY. 

And then beside that, does it even make sense alot of the time to buy such small properties if you can't manage them yourself - do the management fees eat up most of your cash flow? 

Most note buyers will expect a discount on your note, which will eat into your profits.

That one was full of termites and you had to walk away, termites are eating and you're making more offers.

Realistically one vacant unit per year could eat up $3000 in paint, carpet and other upgrades.

The legal and accounting fees alone would eat you up.

If you don’t account for this upfront and a washing machine goes up, then the roof needs redone in 4 years, or the garage door needs replaced- that will eat into any cash flow you have built up for x amount of months.

Unfortunately, I don't have cash.If you go to bank or any lender, the loans will eat my profit and salary.