So long term, in my opinion, I always take higher quality location SFH over multifamily house hacking but if the latter is the most and easiest access point into REI then definitely roll the dice.

Just calling a leech for what it is, glad you agree.If you're getting attorney involved, make sure it's a quality one and trust the process.

Safety and quality of life can/will be influenced by your tenant.

I agree with many of the statements already made here in that the city can be almost street by street in some areas on terms of the quality of the neighbourhoods.

However, before consulting with these professionals, we are taking the initiative to educate ourselves so that we can ask higher quality questions and ensure we are making the best choices for our future.

I am not sure who  you're investor pool is but anyone worth a dime here or off the boards I know value real estate primarily off appreciation qualities and mitigate cash flow through different mechanisms. 

If you don’t like that kind of house, buy a different house, don’t destroy a frankly better quality home to follow a trend when there are brand-new and not-so-new houses that will give you what you want without killing it!

Collateral - The quality of the asset the loan is being secured by.

I do worry about the quality of tenants on the class-C properties, but I'm also no stranger to this stuff so if that's what I have to get into in order to achieve my goals, so be it. 

I think this is smart to do, but you are making move for quality of life as well so make sure the town is a place you will enjoy (along with the new job) living.I've seen people use metrics to move out-of-state without really getting a feel for how much their lifestyle suits the new market.