I am also trying to accumulate companies whose products are 'needs' not 'want' products.

Regarding paying them off, I will have about $40k accumulated by the time I graduate, so I don't see the benefit in dumping $40k into my student loans to pay them off when my monthly payment on them for a 20 year "mortgage" would only be about $250 at 4-5% interest rate.  

It has accumulated code violations, tax liens and possibly growing mold.This leads me to the question, should you buy in your back yard or venture out of state?

The goal is to accumulate 3-4 deeply discounted REOs - producing $6000 monthly cash flow, for retirement.

If anyone has any additional information that we can accumulate about these areas, it would be much appreciated.

Also if I look at it from the opposite perspective, it is almost impossible to find an investment SFH in California for $25-30k down, so this may be my only opportunity at accumulating real estate and eventually passive income.I am 30 years old, looking to leverage my opportunities as much as possible. 

If someone accumulates wealth (even on a smaller scale) by being completely passive and earning lower returns, although it may take longer, that person should still be considered successful.  

By not using leverage is definitely going to take a lot longer to accumulate the critical mass of rentals you'll need to feel comfortable, whatever that cash flow number is.

If you are trying to build a large net worth, accumulate properties, and be comfortably FI over a longer period of time, then leaving your debt and BRRRRing makes more sense. 

Another option I was thinking about was just to sit on a premium property and wait for the appreciation to accumulate before flipping it.