It is only when I have a regular size screen that the @ sign gets me a list to pick from.

In the Bay Area (San Francisco all the way down to San Jose) I regularly see flips with not much put into it, quick turn-around in 2 months or less and grossing 100K or more. 

In any case you monitor the property but move on to others.I just leave information with a seller or listing broker and tell them if your situation changes get back to me.

Find a bank willing to do this, locate a private or hard money source and purchase the house, then refi into a regular mortgage.I have been purchasing rentals this way for the last 7 years. 

We actually organize regular meetups to learn about investing in the US property market.

Odesk makes it very easy to communicate regularly with the VA's and I've found that they have been very good at updating me with their progress and asking questions when needed. 

After spending money fixing up a property, I obviously want to make sure the tenants occupying it are not damaging or tearing anything up....whether accidentally or deliberately......or worse still, using my property as a front for some shady illegal activity    (take your pick on that one....the illegal activity that is).I also want to make sure I am on top of the stuff that will break down due to normal wear and tear and stuff that needs regular maintenance.I also want to make sure the tenants are doing their part in up keeping the property as necessary....mowing lawns, shoveling snow from sidewalks and generally maintaining a reasonably clean interior and exterior for their own good and mine.If and when the tenants do tear something up, or something breaks down due to no fault of their own, unless it adversely affects their daily routine, I would think that they most likely would not report it.

Some investors might balk at the percentage but when you factor these are low income areas and the rents are low the PM isn't making much for all the drama.If you were a PM and could manage an asset in an upscale area instead for say 8% of 2,000 rent that is 160 a month.13% of 600 rent is 78.00 a month and you are dealing with double bookkeeping, high frequency of damage and evictions, multiple trips and constant monitoring of the asset to keep it performing etc.So it's easy to see why many PM companies will not even consider these places.

If so, how did you monitor progress and mitigate risk? 

I know they say otherwise, but having traded on an institutional level pretty regularly, that is not how it goes.