I desire to dismantle systemic racism that allow bad areas to stay bad).Anyways, this opportunity came up and it's a crap shoot but the downside is controlled and the numbers look REALLY good on the upside 

Cover the cloth with plastic wrap, weighting it with a book if necessary.

I would say that as long as you are close to major hospitals, universities, company headquarters, airports, tourist attractions, or beaches, you'll generally be pretty safe in getting your desired return.

Locate For Sale By Owner (FSBO) HomesA useful approach to locating homes available for purchase through owner financing is to drive around a desired neighborhood and look for “For Sale By Owner” signs.

However, this risk needs to be weighted against other risks of managing properties remotely since doing it from ON has its own issues (can't do even smallest of repairs on your own, can't check on the condition of the units, can't even show them to tenants in person to evaluate those tenants when you are first renting to them, etc).

steps to decide: 1-flush out the cash flows & sales proceeds of both scenarios, discount them based on what % of the return is likely to be realized vs "optimistic"2-find a delta in the cash flow of the risk-adjusted outcomes (pretend these are your most-likely outcomes)3-determine your time investment on the self-managed opportunity4-divide line item 2 by line item 3 and compare against how much income per year / hour your time is roughly worth5-if this figure is less than your desired income, avoid the time commitment investment; and if the figure is more than your income, buy the time commitment if you're wiling to do it.

I have no background in real estate but a burning desire to generate passive income. 

In Seattle, I rent because I can find cheaper rentals in the urban location I desire, and it's so dang expensive to buy a home right where I want to live in Seattle.

Hey Kevin Wong , you and I are in the same boat with strong desires to get started in real estate.

Cherry Creek Schools are a good choice but Cherry Creek High School tends to be much more desirable than other high schools in the District.