Shop your mortgage. 

My wife and I were both teachers at the time and found a great house in an “emerging” neighborhood.

In other words, have your ducks in a row for the refinance (usually 2-3 weeks for a DSCR cash out refi) and then start shopping.

Residential units rent for $1075 each, ground floor pizza shop for $1100 so total cashflow is about $3,300. 

Often they seem to sell in tougher neighborhoods because the initial numbers look the best there on paper.Generally I would look above Hwy 380 and maybe Sherman/Denison specifically, but there are other places too, depending on what your goals are. 

Section 8 is the way to go when dealing with a neighborhood like this.

Try to find ideal markets that offer upside while still being at a more affordable price point than southern California for example.A few good examples are Columbus Ohio and San Antonio Texas, although you'll have to find particular neighborhoods and micro-neighborhoods to consider in whichever market you are looking at.

@Frank Patalano I am starting to get discouraged because I am losing out to cash buyers in the C neighborhoods I’m shopping in.

Have you checked out the resources through the Short Term Shop? 

I read everything I could about automotive facilities; spoke with brokers who had been involved in transactions in these type properties, and attended meetings, conferences, and joined associations of automotive repair shop owners4.