I like the way you think as far as the type of areas you're looking in, it'll reduce your risk dramatically for undesirable renters making the investment much safer.

I was thinking that the assessed value might help weed out the very undesirable properties/areas, though I haven't really looked into the assessed values of the properties in the rougher areas.

Evicted undesirables in one side of the unit and re-rented.    

If something happens and makes the closing either impossible or undesirable, you lose whatever time and money you've put into that property.Worse, if damage or loss to the property can somehow be traced back to work you or your contractors did, guess who is getting sued. 

We bought a undesirable commercial lot, rezoned it to residential,  and we can put 10 units on the lot.

I know lots of homes in the area will have second floor apartments, but there's something about basement apartments that can be undesirable. 

It's those areas that will have lots of cash buyers.That being said, unless you work an area that is really remote, really undesirable or really high end, you are not going have a problem finding cash buyers in this market.

When I hear about a situation or action which I find undesirable I think Yuck.

.)- house hacking; there are not likely very many multi-family units in many towns and if there are they are probably expensive and in undesirable/dangerous parts of townI am not trying to discredit the usefulness of this site or of investing in real estate.

With respect to the law of building codes, permitting and contractors, I have to be frank--in Ohio, it is nothing more than a hidden tax, a protective tariff, and a way for the municipality to veto any development or renovation that its architectural review board subjectively considers "undesirable."