Buy the property that you want to own the most 10 years from now.

Well, you can buy little portable washing machines that hook up to your sink- not unlike those freestanding dishwashers.

Buy properties with more and more units.- Can also try to do seller financing, but much harder to find.

Most likely trying to find a sucker to buy this and take over the costly legal battle they are entailed in.So next time someone is like "yeah just get a deed in lieu at closing", think twice about that.Actually, I use the deed in lieu.  

The early portion of my career was buying turnkey rentals, like the one you described. 

Quote from @Atif Khan: Hi, new here. i just finished building my first spec homes out in granbury tx and was looking to buy a few more lots around dfw metroplex.

Better to make that mistake, and buy another deal, than to not bought the deal.  

Most who get tripped up are those buying the smaller multi-families that don't possess the correct use permit/historical rental license activity. 

This acronym stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, and Repeat.

My personal preference for a buy and hold would be an already established area (or an area that's still gentrifying, but has already seen significant progress).