The seller is highly motivated to sell and has already knocked their price down 6% since listing it 4 months ago.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far, people throw that word around too much these days but I would say they made a lot of promises that they haven’t kept and paint a very unrealistic picture with an extremely high pressure sales scheme that does a disservice to the vast majority of their students.

One veteran buyer remarked to me that he didn't get any properties because the prices were so high. 

That lessens the concern as there are often multiple groups of people at the house at a given time. 

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.

Highly suggest coming out to some of the local chicago IN-PERSON meetups! 

If one has high living expenses, cash flow doesn't mean much and I definitely understand going for appreciation first.

The other factor that's relevant for me is that my husband is a high end W-2 wage earner and we could greatly benefit from the potential tax benefits of actively managing the property. 

Those seem very high estimates ^.

High-end properties might require a white-glove approach with customized services, while more modest properties may prioritize affordability and efficient communication.