Yes, they occasionally go weird on you, but so do higher income folks. 

I assume you already took a look at the Fed dot plot.If the Fed keeps that schedule, the term structure of interest rates could invert (it has done so occasionally), but the inversion has almost always been a temporary affair (and it has usually presaged a recession...).Even from a naive mean-reversion perspective, it's pretty obvious where we're at in the supercycle.

There are, occasionally, good teams in these smaller markets who have 3-4 agents on a team who set up good systems to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish.  

So trying to get a good cash on cash returns there is almost impossible unless you get lucky and snatch an occasional deal - most opportunities are in flips. you can still get 5% cap on smaller MFRs - compared to Bay Area's 2% that's obviously much better, but if you're after cashflow than midwest and parts of south are better bets

There are others but those are reasonably close by.You might find the occasional house to flip in Yucca Valley or Joshua Tree just make sure there's a profit.  

We currently lease a Beneteau 375 on Lake Travis; it's the closest we can get for now; with the occasional charter every couple of years.Best of luck.

Recently I put an ad on Craigslist for insured tile layers and I received over 100 responses in a few days, most came in at 1.00 per sq foot.Remember dark grout, hides dirt better, always assure the tile are from the same die lot, and always keep a box or two of spare tiles for the occasional chipped or broken tile replacement.As far as liability for slips on wet floors, my leases have clauses to cover that, the tenant waives all rights to sue me or they don't get in, and I still carry liability insurance anyway.In 20+ years, never had a problem.

When it comes to the guy selling his one rare piece of art or me doing my occasional stock transaction, margins don't matter because the overhead is small and efficiency doesn't buy you much.  

Occasionally everyone will show something but if it's over and over again or a large group then take special notice.The high motivators are death, divorce, retirement, partnership split, other businesses stretching them to thin, health reasons, relocation to another state or country, bought into the industry and want to now exit, etc.If it's an existing business that is not franchised I will look at it IF they have a long track record of success.

While the occasional additional upgrade helps sell a home, over-improvements generally result in no return for your investment and sometimes turn buyers off that may be otherwise interested.Anyhow, to answer your question, a good realtor will do more than just dump the property on the MLS, they can assist you with pricing, advertising, open houses, design, etc.