Great question and really not that bad of a situation to be in.

@Brian Cornick It wasn't bad or good.

This is just a start, but I think with a bit more information, you can avoid the usual answers here like, KC, Indy, Memphis, Austin, Cleveland, etc, etc (these are ALL fine markets, but I would assert that investing in any of those cities is NOT always the best choice for the out-of-state investor, based on answers to the questions above, as there are success stories on REI in almost every town in America).

I can't remember off the top of my head what we learned about lease to own in law school, but I remember thinking it was bad mojo. 2.

From speaking with another (actual) investor, I learned that this group operated heavily in the Stockton and Sacramento area.Bottom line: if you come across someone who tells you that you have to pay to learn from them, I would suggest to continue looking - it is possible that you may learn something from the "education," but, in higher likelihood, you'd only end up deeper in debt, or worse, in a bad RE deal that they could not find anyone else to sell to.There are plenty of honest people still around, many are successful and some of those have blogs and podcasts that you can learn from for free (although, they still seem to have something to sell you, but it is a fair trade off.)

None of this is to say that this property is a "bad" deal.  

He had to deal with many of the exact same issues; non-paying tenants, turnover/foreclosure, and even repairs.Just as an example, he had a lower income couple buy a home from him and they had a bad storm come through and damage the roof.

I looked at apts for rent ads that sat to over a monthThen I called and asked if they would like all their rental headaches gone.And talked to them like a friend asked if it was easy Then said I would be happy to take their problems away as I was young with tons of energy to do repairs, evict bad tenets etcAnd all I wanted to do was pay them a set amount   Each month as opposed to the up-and-down rental situation that had gotten themselves into Believe it or not the conversation can Flovent Easley back-and-forth them finding out about me and me finding out about them and what they're able to do and want to do

Tenants that are one flat tire away from missing rent will not result in quality cash flow, and yet ironically these type of tenants are the kind that tend to rent in the type of neighborhoods that show the highest pro forma cash flow projections on paper ... too bad those cash flows aren't what you will actually get during a downturn, and you spend much of your time chasing down rent as opposed to growing your portfolio ... too bad that the increases in rents and prices will not tend to keep up with inflation in many of these neighborhoods too ...

I don't think you could do it with a fourplex either, unless you buy it in bad shape and make significant improvements.