In my area, unless I'm dealing with very sophisticated sellers/buildings (e.g. industrial factories), most people mean option 2 when they say "operating expense." 

Etc.There's a ton of empty buildings and old factories along the turnpike in NJ also but I was always told they are just to much money to clean up its not worth it( at the moment).

Shootings are so bad in parts of KC that it was the topic of Nightline just last month, and there was a recent documentary on how bad it is called "Kansas City Murder Factory."

Not really if you pay them enough, or have your contract air tight so his oops factor is very limited.

Another factor I think you may be overlooking in the Colorado market is rent appreciation as rents have increased faster than home prices, which makes your future cashflow more attractive than your initial numbers.

@Trevor JohnsonWelcome to BP,When I first got started in real estate I found a mentor that had a cookie cutter like factory out in Sandy Valley Nevada of all places selling 2.5 Acres.

Another factor is the rental prices aren't making sense, while still continuing to rise.

Let's process those checks, baby, and keep the money factory going.The GSE model works because of scale.

These things are thrown together in a factory in 12 hours and then delivered to wherever.  

If your credit is good and you  have at least some savings, then the other factor is your income.