I found a partner (happens to be my father in law) that can be my boots on the ground while i do a lot of the back office stuff and deal finding that is not his strong suit.  

For 300k you can possibly find either a duplex or a house that had a mother in law suite or you can go the usual roomate route and share a kitchen and other common areas.

Im new to BP and I have a very strong desire to learn Real Estate Investing in general to figure out which niche best suits me.

3) What if I do a big fix on my own personal residence (treat it like a luxury flip) prior to selling? 

So you wonder why you don't see more shipping container construction besides the high-end, one-off eccentric luxury home construction models and the rag tag cabins.

Based upon my limited exposure to both markets I personally think they are just different, and are suited for different types of strategies.

We tried to design it to fit well in the sweet little neighborhood and have the style of the old Ann Arbor homes, which sell like hotcakes, but the amenities of a newer house--mud room/first floor laundry, master suite with luxury bath, large kitchen, etc.

From what I've learned so far, REI seems like the path best suited for me to accomplish that.

I'd like to add that if you are concerned about getting sued in Ohio and you have a legitimate claim against the tenant, then go ahead and sue them first and file the suit in Texas.  

I buy a lot of properties in Metro Detroit and I've seen deals like that but those are in neighborhoods that I feel like I should be suiting up in full combat gear before I get out of my car.Realistically in C+ neighborhoods you should be getting a Net ROI of around 12% possibly lower and possibly higher depending on mistakes that are made and what kind of luck you have.