Don't go for the cheapest (unless the price is lower because it is on sale), but also don't go for the most expensive. 

Have been talking about getting into real estate investing for the last 2-3 years and finally pulled the trigger on a 3 unit house hack in Soulard that will be closing later this month and will be self-managing the property.I'm trying to network a bit with other investors, build a solid team of contractors / handymen, and set my systems up in way to scale, but also so my tenants have a good experience.

There's a lot of suckers who attend these sales, particularly for the lower priced properties and that's precisely who you don't want to be bidding against.

Just the different brand name lowers the cost dramatically!

Mean while i would be building equity, and if rates do lower, or when the term ends, could refi for better rates and then maybe cash flow.My questions are:Is this too naively optimistic?

In addition, they connected me to the preferred lenders who also helped with closing on the property within a short period time.

My recommendation would be somewhere close by so you can manage it yourself.

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

And yep, in F'ville or very close by. 

The "land basis" cannot be depreciated, so your depreciable portion will be lower than $350k.We typically consider $1 million in building basis as a rule of thumb where it makes sense to evaluate the potential benefits.