No guaranteed way to stop a determined, experienced thief:(Only deterrents that push them to easier jobs.The roof may be a good idea - until they figure out the just need a ladder to get up there and a rope to lower it down. 

The maintenance/cap ex costs will likely be less these the lower rent class c area.Some things for OP to ponder.  

I had one investment in a syndication that would have been a total loss however the sponsor made good and repaid principal . so 3 year no return.. which is just fine by me personally I am not one who goes crazy if the return is lower or does not happen to me its principal i care about.. 

Should I be looking at markets with a lower entry cost? 

My experience is the min is around 15%, but I've read some posts on BP that some lenders can offer a lower minimum (but that usually means a higher interest rate).

It is typically lower than cash-on-cash and you can put it somewhere around 6% conservatively.

I would also target ones that are ideal for renting out when you move out so maybe do a lower price point. 

It's lower than 1.5%, sometimes I price deals out conventional & DSCR, DSCR beats conventional pricing a fair amount of the time.The only catch is the prepayment penalty on a DSCR loan.

The market does offer lower priced investment opportunities and higher cashflow returns, with ongoing revitalization projects like the DORA boosting appreciation potential.

Hre are the key things to knowWhat you are bidding on - often oddball properties that are hard to identify and have little value are auctioned offThe true as is value of the property, The tax assessment can be way higher or way lower than the true as is valueThe local laws and how they affet your total costs and returns