I think I have got enough knowledge and capital to buy my first SFH or duplex rental property, but my wife thinks buying rental properties is gambling.

That is exactly what I see, buying condos from a wholeseller seems like a real gamble.

Properties like this, with nonconforming underwriting characteristics, many times become difficult to unload unless you can find a cash buyer or buyer with a commercial lender willing to waive occupancy and OO density limits.

Investors Wanted To Believe though.....I saw people pay $50k Over the HOA judgments on that gamble......a nice surprise for the homeowner who hadn’t paid his mtg for 6 years......not so good for the buyers.

Otherwise you will be gambling. 

For me anyone with a fico below 560 is probably a life long deadbeat, and anyone with no credit file, probably is also a dead beat, but they could have no credit for many reasons other than their lack of credit worthiness, so I assign 25 gamble points to the no credit renter and treat them as equivalent to a 585 fico.

Research these markets (i.e. why these are up and coming) and then apply those city characteristics to different cities that you and your significant other are more familiar with.

If you went the VA loan route and it's in a good location with strong rental characteristics, you may decide that you're willing to cover a couple hundred bucks out of pocket each month because you didn't have to put 20% down.If it's burning through a lot of cash each month that you can't cover out of your budget or other rentals, you'll have to look at how much equity you have, what you could sell the property for, and what you'd clear after expenses and fees. 

That said, in many circumstances it might help. it's a gamble at best imoI also assume this is for a retail primary home, if it's for an investment house then I really hate this idea.

I gambled on the cheap solution and lost.