Care to share where your out of state investments will be located? 

Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention.

The kind I do not like are passed on from their parents who never learned to work so they expect you take care of them.There are some restrictions and annual inspection most have to do with safety(railing), smoke alarms, and sanitation....

As rentals the capital requirement to rent ratio is more favourable than a SFH ... to the point where you really do not care about re-sale value in 10-20 years.

If it's north of the river, be careful

I'm definitely attentive to the cash flow, IRR, etc. going into the initial deal.

@Adam Anderson: You're right, vacancy rates ARE extremely low in Boston (currently hovering just over 3%), but for this very specific target you've mentioned be careful about timing - it's much, much harder to rent a 3bd unit outside the standard 9/1 rental cycle, versus 1-2bd units, in my experience.

You can probably live a better life style on 6k of w2 because of  Benefits  (health care being the big one)  Conventional loans are going to be tough, your income is going to be scrutinized more.  

If you are not getting the attention you deserve, go to someone who makes you feel like a priority. 

Really the only remedy she can expect is being released from her lease, which it doesn't sound like she wants.Maybe the landlord has the rules to avoid drawing attention from the neighbors, to avoid getting reported for illegally renting the basement.