If your budget is constrained - either by the depth of your pocket or the amount of capital warranted by the business case - you will be better off in the long-run to cut-back on the level of finishes (which can be easily upgraded later) and not cut corners the building envelope and core systems (which are much more costly to upgrade after a unit has been finished).

Better Cashflow compared to "Core" Areas How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Core Logic, Experian, LexisNexis and a few more niche players like them have already tried it and failed miserably.

(a hard money loan would only add to the stress on a Newbie).Therefore....I/ most investors  would have to shop in Housing markets with homes under 200k...In my case...living in the northeast....I am restricted to the southeast (NC, FLA, Tenn, Georgia)/ maybe...Midwest.)I would have to  long Distance Invest....Then I would have to get a team/"Core 4" in the market.

First of kind luxury condo in south shore of Montreal (10 min train ride to core downtown montreal)III.

It seems to me that core properties should appreciate nicely and never lack for tenants and I’m just not as sure about investing outside the core.

Whenever you are buying a property out of state you should do a few things to ensure it's as smooth as possible.Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core.

Even just the suburbs of Portland will get you drastically better cash on cash returns, though appreciation still makes the core desirable for some. 

I wouldn't recommend cheap, urban core properties, especially for an out of state investor.

I came across a compelling 23 unit listing in the fairmount neighborhood of Cincinnati.