If this is a Class A property in a Class A area, you have the least chance of getting a bad tenant. 

Hey @Rio Nance you’re casting a pretty wide net with your question, since it's not specific to an area or city, but I’ll share based on what I'm seeing.

I did a search on my own  to help them find it and I can't find any insurance companies offering quotes for the Los Angeles area at the moment.

In some places it is a lot cheaper to rent instead of buying, but in other areas, it is the same (or cheaper) to buy a home. 

hyper forcus on one area and go under contract directly with the sellers.

The FHA rules/regs (in particular the FHA self-sufficiency test) are applied the same across all markets, and I know for a fact that in rural communities across the country, and big cities that are not particularly desirable places to live, it's not a deal-breaker, I am not commenting on those areas. 

Hopefully, not an expensive tenant or Fair Housing lawsuit.100% of what @Travis Biziorek states is true, but he left out a key fact - he lived in the Detroit area when he started investing here, so was able to self-manage and meet everyone he had to hire face-to-face.

I would love to put my mom into a nicer home in a nicer area would a 1031 exchange make that possible?

question depends entirely on the area you are investing in.

I own a couple vacant lots and looking to purchase more in a small area. 2/1s in Memphis, as far as I know, are as desirable as in a bigger market.