The suggestions are very helpful, still adding to this I suggest to drive there with your own car or public transport.

1996 Ford Crown Victoria - economy transportation that does not induce tenant envy.

This is why I do not buy anything where I can be affected by other landlords anymore.I have been there and done that.I only look at larger self enclosed investments where I control the whole look and feel of the place.Not only do other landlords cause tenant issues they can also cause rent drops.

At this point, with the amount of stuff they had in the house and considering they had nowhere lined up to go and no transportation, I felt it was prudent to allow a couple more weeks so I gave them till the end of June.

Then I went a bit overboard thinking it would be pretty awesome to transport that house using balloons.

I'd be crazy to think that new models wouldn't arise, but I certainly don't know what those models are (just like I couldn't predict new methods of communication (the Internet), new methods of shared transport (Uber) or new methods of short-stay housing (AirBnB)). 

Just to add to this,  I think it depends on your area,  if you live in a larger city with a lot of jobs/transportation then as others mentioned the cash flow may not be as great.  

If you have no regular place of work but ordinarily work in the metropolitan area where you live, you can deduct daily transportation costs between home and a temporary work site outside that metropolitan area.

So, location, cost of doing business, utility cost, transportation cost, labor cost and the ability to attract qualified employees will be the critical factors.

Both options, look for single-family with good rent potential (proximity to jobs and transportation, low crime, $1700/month zillow rent estimate) and low costs (convert to electric utilities, repair roof and structure).