OLD stock yazoo clay and houses that originally were built as cheap as you can build .. of course not all but a vast majority of what you folks buy for cash flow rentals.then  on top of that a VERY tough tenant base and that market can really frustrate folks I owned over 200 of those and the happiest day of my life was when my partners bought me out for 4k a door.. done gone and good luck lOL

Regarding not good credit, I usually request a co-signer and copies of their bank statements showing that they have sufficient reserves in case anything arises.

Typically in California, a Will alone is not sufficient to avoid probate - which is a pain, time consuming, and very expensive. 

As noted above, even though Fair Oaks is a mere 20 minutes from East Cobb, the respective markets are vastly different.

You’re spot on, you can potentially use a 3.5% down FHA loan for new financing if income and rents from the other three units are sufficient.

If the equity is sufficient for the down payment and qualifying for the new property there are some excellent HELOC or even fixed rate second mortgage programs available.

I think we've answered the question sufficiently at this point.

Many investors offer residential 1-4 unit financing but a vastly smaller percentage offer 5+ units.

I figure either option will help me get answers to the vast majority of my questions. 

I've seen lenders exempt years spent in college as "work history" but the borrower would still need to have sufficient funds/reserves and a solid credit score.