I would always lean towards markets that are landlord-friendly. 

The challenge was balancing the relationship between landlord/tenant and a personal/friendly relationship.

You could also buy from an existing landlord that has a section 8 tenant.

Absentee owners, pre-foreclosures, and tired landlords. 

Is it realistic to ask for and expect to get at least 2 landlord references and 2 tenant references (current clients) if I am a " small time" landlord with one property, not multiple units?

Sure, because when you take rent payments out of the equation you can focus on the tenant landlord relationship and providing the best experience for the tenant.All the best!

If you have this debt and need money, you may not be preparing yourself for the challenges of being a landlord.

If they are problematic, let them know you can report them to Section 8 and they may lose their voucher.Learn your rights and responsibilities as a landlord.

. :)This is especially true if you rely on furnishedfinder.com as your primary lead source (which you shouldn't, but that's another post) as when you make that connection with a prospective resident, you are selling yourself as a landlord as much as you are the property as a place to live.

Overall kinda ok area, but either you have to be pretty good at landlording or have a very knowledgeable in THIS particular area.