Occasionally, I see a property that I'm interested in and I will send the owner of record a personal letter introducing myself and what I do and express my interest in their property. 

Occasionally 5 years ago.

I rather not put them in but I also don't mind the extra income for the occasional phone call to the appliance technician.

That has reduced the loitering by homeless, and criminal elements a lot, but we do still occasionally have some issues in the parking lots and the areas outside the courtyard.

If there’s only traffic at the church Wednesday nights and Sundays and an occasional Saturday night for weddings I’d consider that to be a GREAT neighbor and buy that deal all day long!

Although, this is one of the toughest cash flow markets I've seen you can still occasionally find deals that make sense when combining strategies such as value add and rent to own, or short/midterm rentals.

You’ll get clobbered because big ticket items needing to be replaced and occasional updating or make ready turnovers between tenants will cost you many thousands.

I'm looking at condos that are part of hotels/resorts, for occasional personal use (I travel a lot and need a place to come back to), and to have STR income when I'm away.

Paula Pant also has a good perspective on the topic and touches on it occasionally in her podcast, Afford Anything.

Refi puts about $17K in our pockets now but literally EVERYTHING is new so it shouldn't need much except the occasional repairs here and there.  2) The property sits on a double lot.