I ask the opposite of my realtor than the above poster.

now take the same city and go for a 1000.00 a month 100k rental..  3k a month is the qualifications to get into the home.. leaving 1800 a month to live on or almost double.. can you see how that works.Investor simply cause their own problems with their own greed and expectations that low rents low value assets perform exponentially to higher value assets.. and nothing could be further from the truth.. just watch the Morris videos how he explains how solid those homes are .. and If you fall for that line of thinking well you could have some issues long termListen to Chris Clothier and his thought process of being on the exact opposite end of the spectrum and U don't see his clients on BP whinning about getting all these wipe out tenant issues. 

The few 2/1s that do sell are often significantly smaller, on a busy street, no garage, no private yard for which my property is opposite in each of those areas.  

Basically all the opposites of what the market is like here in my home state of NJ.

I agree with your premise but I suppose at this time that the opposite trend will take place - that the demand for city living will INCREASE, not plummet with self-driving cars.

I've also only ever heard of annual leases where I went to school and my sibling says it is the same where he attends (opposite sides of the country, he's in CA and I went to college in NY).

Assuming you agree with that statement, then you would be buying at the top of the market, which would be exactly the opposite of the saying, "Buy low, sell high", but you have the convenience of potentially waiting out the coming correction and earning some good money on your property while having your tenants pay down your mortgage for you.  

I guess my approach is the opposite of JD, most of the time I ask for a labor only quotes and then buy my own materials. 

Did you encounter any opposition or criticism of their services from an attorney or accountant?

If they have no ownership interest then just the opposite is likely true and you probably need a license.