If you find indy coffee places with fancy brands= A class.

It does not need to be fancy.

Between these two extremes, are a lot of areas that are safe areas but nothing fancy, where you can buy in for a reasonable amount and get good rents, so you'll have some cash flow as well as a good shot at some long term appreciation. 

This would normally be a no brainier, but she's also applying for family maintenance, which is a fancy way if saying child support, and rent payments would be paid directly to me.  

Here is where all the fancy what-if projections go.

. -- owners are a prof. couple who send their teen to a fancy pvt. school nearby (athletic awards on the walls prove this).The place has been KEPT UP and is very stylish.

(I like to fancy myself a good landlord that actually cares about how the tenants feel in the house.

Here's a few: dress appropriately, have good hygiene, if you have biz cards make them look professional, buy a domain name for your email address, create a website, make sure your online profiles are up to date and professional, have a professional voicemail message, return phone calls and emails, don't give someone a dead fish handshake (own it), listen, take care when writing emails, and the list goes on.

The carpenter is happy (he's making good money), my PM is happy (he's making good money), and I'm happy (I'm making good money).The next best thing is to hire an investor-level GC who will charge $50 per door, but won't give me 100% of their attention, won't have a full-time PM on the job, won't have fancy trucks, etc.

Don't get fancy and drive up cost of improvements.