That's just my $.02 but I'm sure others have been operating differently with success.As for neighborhoods, West Side, South Buffalo, Kaisertown, decent sections of Black Rock and Riverside, pockets of North Buffalo, maybe some sections of Cheektowaga are going to fall into those categories.

I know the law and do not operate my business based on other individuals that confuse moral with legal.  

After you find what city/state you want to invest in I would do build your Core 4.

I mostly operate in VA and NC holding long term rentals.

These are all mom-and-pop operations, so setting this up was easy.

If you operate an STR, gross income is your total rent paid by your guests, before any subtractions.To figure out your taxes, you take this gross income and subtract from it all allowable business expenses: marketing, education, technology, licenses and fees (including Airbnb and credit card fees), office expenses, business driving and so on.

If by real estate business you’re implying you have little or no money to invest but are contemplating using one of the guru inspired methods (subject to, “wholesaling” , fix n flip) to create cash flow, I’d encourage you to do research on the true success/failure rate of people who engage in these endeavors, the amount of money the successful operators spend monthly on marketing, and the real time commitment and knowledge and experience necessary for success.  

We operate in a 40 mile radius from our house.

In the event of recent non-drivable we would allow more time to get in operational state than we would allow for other lease violationsIn my market option 3 could be very costly.  

Run an Opco/Propco model.If your business utilizes real estate as part of ongoing operations you can get all the tax benefits of active RE by having the building purchase and hold the RE.3.