Ultimately, you may need to have some serious work done, but you can shop around for someone who is rated well on angieslist or other resources.

Here, if you can shop for triplexes and fourplexes in the $300k+ range, the cash flow tends to be a lot higher.  

It's equivalent to your car breaking down and needing to being in the shop for a day and costing a few hundred bucks, happens all the time.Towing a car hurts of course, hopefully enough to cause a tenant to pay the rent the promised to pay, but it's not a death sentence, it's not kidnapping children and pets, it's just another fee and hassle to the tenant to motivate them to pay.

Same areas near Hillside shopping complex(Target, Holiday Inn) tend to be B- whereas the rest of the town is a solid C+.

There are much safer investments out there with similar returns.

Yes, it is the best return on your money, but in my experience as a property manager, most people just starting out get more traction if they start in a safer - class B - neighborhood. 

Or should I just shop around at both smaller and larger banks?

Check cashing, pawn shops, liquor stores,.

Shop your listings.  

Hope that makes sense, the bottom line is shop around and choose which loan product works best for your particular circumstances.