Some were outsourced to offshore VA’s.

I owned a bar with an apartment in the Dominican Republic when I went to college and It was so frustrating to be so far away and have to rely on local boots on the ground to relay data (in fact the manager spent all my cash for the project on a gambling Christmas cocaine party, ended up in jail and my boat got stolen by some Haitians trying to migrate to Florida but thats a whole different story).

The deal was up 70% in 2 years which was a great 35% ROI a year but I think the GP wanted to gamble and go for the 120% in four years which people can argue if it was the right choice in this sellers market.

Appreciation is speculation a form of legal gambling.  

Amortized over 30 yrsIncome:Total Gross Monthly Rent: 2,845 (if both units are rented/1,500 if owner occupies top unit and rents out bottom)  Seller thinks 2,945/month for bothFixed Landlord-Paid Expenses:Electric & Propane: 360/month (seller currently has them on one bill so I put 360 into the 'electricity' field)Water & Sewer: 65/monthTrash: tenant pays for their own trash service / owner occupier when living on first floor unit hauled his own trash to dumpInsurance: 90/monthProperty taxes: 550/monthVariable Landlord-Paid expenses: (A bit of a gamble: I put in low percentages here in efforts to make this look like a better deal, rather than being more conservative with higher/safer percentages, so I’m curious your take on this:Vacancy: 3% (88$/month) -I don't think it'll be difficult to rentRepairs and Maintenance: 3% (88$/mo) -It's freshly rehabbed...though yes, I know there will be unseen repairsCapEx: 3% (88$/mo) -It's freshly rehabbedManagement fees: 3% (88/mo and I would be the manager)Future Assumptions:Annual income growth: 2% Annual PV Growth: 2%Annual Expenses Growth: 2%Sales Expenses: 9%Are there any other expenses I'm not seeing, i.e: inspection/appraisal (or does the seller pay those) etc?  

Bidding on a property without seeing it is always a gamble.

Even if the home is going to cash flow 2% a month, I feel like its a huge gamble. 

The 8 property portfolio deal may be an all-in gamble considering I have no experience in owning out of state properties.

I've considered waiting for the auction and bidding there for the clean title, but I'd rather get it at a fair price than gambling on what would happen at auction - I've never bid at a foreclosure auction, so I don't know the mechanics.

One of the best ways to get going in my opinion is to use Fiverr.com or offshore VAs.