Both of my parents are dead and I have no family.

The conundrum is that I’m playing with speculations on the housing market.

Leave those to the highly experienced and often local investors who understand and do not mind the high-risk play of investing in low cost rentals. 

Also, it really only comes into play if/when the bank completely takes the house back over.

While benefiting from a great location and solid bones, and a good rental history, there is no denying that the dearth of inventory and the general frothiness of the real estate market must have played a role. 

Yes, cash flow play only is my mentality.

Multi unit investing is a cash flow play where as SFH investing is primarily an appreciation investment.

I infuriated my mother on a cruise ship once because she gave me a few hundred bucks to spend at the casino...I played two rounds of three-card, won, and walked away!

Both of them are offered as value-add plays based on a light reno which is supposed to result in rent increases of $115 to $150 per unit.I have my own thoughts on where I want to be in terms of property quality but I wanted to see if any investors local to the area or knowledgeable about the area could offer any opinion on what class these two neighborhoods/areas are and which of them would be more resilient in an economic downturn.

Your financing will also play a role.