I personally have no experience in this market/neighborhood, so I'm looking for some general guidance.From what I learned on the forum, it seems in order to avoid headache down the line, I should avoid any deals with less than $800 rent/unit.

Bottom-line: Invest when it makes sense for you, not based on rules. 

A third party appraisal usually has to be done and then the appraisal created, the title company also has quite a bit of paperwork to complete.One option would be considering a personal or business term loan/line of credit so that you have cash in hand to play with the cash buyers.

Also, a home equity line of credit is a different product than a home equity loan.

If it's a separate line-item, the Renter pays it as a separate line-item.

There's definitely more than one path to go, I think the key is have a definite end in mind and map your way there backwards starting from the finish line.

So I should use my line of credit to pay down debt or save it until I'm ready to invest?

Is this accurate or am I out of line with this assumption? 

You need an inspection period to look at the roof and sewer line at a minimum. 

I never realized how much I appreciated roaches until the bed bug problems started coming in a few years ago.