But this comes with pockets of C/D neighborhoods, and higher potential for headaches;  in addition, appreciation in these zips has probably maxed out for a while.

Also the ability to repay -  your source of income. 

You also need to accommodate tenant schedules for showings.Relisting later might reset your listing's visibility, but delaying could cost you more in lost income.

Yes it will have UBIT on the portion of the income pro rata to the mortgage.

It's mostly Class A properties, a few Class B.You may find the below copy & paste info useful in addressing your question:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

If things work out, we'd like to have at least 1 additional property before the end of the year and have 8 in 8 years.

For example, I mention that every adult must pay a $30 application fee, pass my credit/criminal background, make a combined income of 3x the rent, and whether or not the property accepts pets.

It seems there’s a common misconception largely influenced by social media, online courses, and influencers who oversimplify the process that real estate is an easy, passive way to generate income with minimal effort.

The hard money 10% plus additional thousands in closing costs was too much to swallow. 

There are a lot of market-specific issues you'll have to grapple with and also, there are plenty of landmines in MFR on its own in CT that you'll have to be ready for, in addition to the nuances and complexities of developing something like this.