I’m not trying to buy a property that may or may not go up in value and any home that is “easier” to get is in the ghetto or section 8 and I’d like to avoid that headache.

When a target property surfaces, be prepared to act on it within HOURS not days.Be prepared to show a solid proof of funds (not a print-it-yourself POF from a hard money site) and to submit a reasonable offer (most likely 97%+ of asking price).And if you have a good agent, you'll get that property under contract and start you due diligence. 

That's a long answer to give you an idea of the possibilities, but it's typically easier just to have a deleader do the work. 

Combine the two together and it'd be an interesting list of markets to target for investing.

It will make it easier for you to keep track of come tax time.

Do you have any target ratios?

Once you target this person then you need to do whatever they need you to do.

When researching target rental rates, I assume this is pre-tax and would need to confirm the comps are advertising Long-term leases or pre-tax Short-term leases/M2M?

Or if it's easier, get a license in CO, and then after registering switch it to whatever state you actually live in. 

Start with friends and family first, however, I've found it actually easier to raise money from fellow investors rather than from family.