Generally buying in nicer areas leads to better experiences and confidence in your investing, but lower cash flow when you move out.

Diversification into multifamily also lowers risk compared to a single rental, as vacancies won’t affect your income as drastically.3.

Would that lower our tax liability from other income we receive or no because this is purely RE and not an operating business?

I'd focus on deciding what you want to do (flip-high risk, but potentially high return...or large loss; short term rental-more work, but higher return than long term rental; long term rental-less work than the other two, but lower return).Once you've decided which you want to do, then focus on getting the best house to meet your goal. 

In general higher cost neighborhoods are safer than lower cost neighborhoods.

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

Property managers have established vendor relationships and can handle issues quickly.Cons of Hiring a Property Manager❌ Lower Profit Margins – Management fees (typically 8-12% of monthly rent) eat into your cash flow, which can be a dealbreaker if your margins are tight.❌ Less Control Over Tenants & Maintenance – You won’t be as involved in selecting tenants or overseeing repairs, which might lead to decisions you wouldn’t have made yourself.❌ Not All Property Managers Are Great – A bad property manager can neglect your property, overcharge for repairs, or poorly handle tenant relations, leading to unnecessary headaches.Which Option Is Right for You?

Their ability to recover their money should you default is much lower in this position.

New Britain is where you are going to get the best ROI like you mentioned and this is because as a whole there are more areas within the city where qualified tenants are looking to live and the purchase prices are lower while still maintaining competitive rents.

Benefit of waiting is lower mortgage payments and lower debt.