its highly risky for most mom and pops to sell on sub to.. and its simply not a way for those without substantial wherewithal to buy property and keep the seller safe..

Qualified applicants that get priced out of rapidly improving neighborhoods will move into these areas but it seems like they aren’t biting.High quality, lower income applicants aren’t stupid and they won’t settle.If you think this area is a losing proposition, I would think about selling and not banking on hope.In regard to vacancy, I don’t consider any area that has average occupancy (economic and physical) below 95%You might pay more for a better area but time will treat you right and you’ll make a ton of money in equity over the long term.

@Zach Denny Think of this in terms of riskiness.

And if it were set up where everything went through a title company so the buyer pays the title company, they manage the buyer's loan (from me), and the title company ensures my mortgage is paid without my direct involvement... what parts of the transaction would feel risky or not worth the headache to you? 

It's risky, but you need to consider the possibiity for sure.

I should also mention we shut off the breaker (to the garage) after confirmation from two electricians and our contractor that we had a serious fire risk.   I

Diversify if you can with smaller amounts so risk is distributed. 

You get paid a 5% acquisition fee and regular cash flow with low risk. I

My concern with the DST is driven by the overall state of the market at the moment - low cap rates where your risk is magnified by the interest only debt and fees the typical DST layers on the investment. 

A single is find if it means less risk.  I