(you can dig up the seattle times article,  I'm too lazy)FWIW I am in the process of closing on a new primary residence for myself in upper Rainier Beach  (2300sf 2 story mid century,  $430k, mid block on residential street, needs a little spit and polish, but totally habitable).  

The were already known much more efficient ways to create horse power last century.

I am a local realtor with CENTURY 21 here, and I know the area very well.

It was fun and different as our other 2 STRs were set up in the last century.  

It's all contextual to your market, your investment appetite, and your business plan.Here are a few keys things to consider:Your Market: As @Mack Benson pointed out, up here in St Paul/MPLS, most of our small multifamilies (2-5 units) were built nearly a century ago.

A broker can only manage 6 (yes 6) units before having to go through an entirely separate licensing procedure to register a property management company.This means that if you plan on managing 7 or more units, you need to convince a broker to open a newly licensed entity with a separate trust account from their normal operations.So there are really only two paths that you should consider.  1) Getting your own broker's license so you can control the administrative load 2) Affiliating with a brokerage with an existing property management division.In Cache Valley, the brokerages that I'm aware of that have property management are:--Achievement Realty--Century 21 / Preferred Property Management--Coldwell Banker / Catalyst Property Management--Connect / Reeder Property Management--Dwell / Reside--Equity Real Estate / Equity Property ManagementThere are smaller shops which only have a few doors or are management pure-plays, but these are the more established ones up here.I'd talk to all of them before taking on more than a handful of clients.

As you probably know, the experts have successfully predicted in the last century 7 Recessions out of the last 2. :)  There are always naysayers out there.The answers to your questions are:1.

Not being able to pay rent for a few months during the worst public health crisis in a century doesn't automatically make one irresponsible. 

And I watch The Big Short movie at least once a month to remember when New Century mortgage, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns went out of business.

However, even if you get the steal of the century I don't suggest investing in that area and especially with condos for a number of reasons.#1 HOA dues typically kill your returns and you're paying those even when the unit is empty between tenants.