You tend to give up a little more return but you do not have to suck up a lot of time raising capital.Syndicators have options for capital to and they will not be rail roaded just to receive some funds.

Seller  repairs tend to be done wrong ,cheaply ,fill in the blank.

Whether it's time, distance or construction costs, we all tend to underestimate.

Here's Wells Fargo's:https://reo.wellsfargo.com/Home-Search.aspx I would tend to disagree with you on the Bank's position with regards to REO's.

Direct rental properties seem to fit that bill since everybody still needs a place to live and rentals (if not the rates) will tend to increase, if anything. 

Bookkeepers tend to charge for services in two different ways. 1) Hourly: usually at or around $20-50 an hour, but this number can vary wildly depending on the level of service you're getting.

Hi Andrew, Canton or Federal Hill areas are desirable because many young professional want to live there meaning you'll tend to have a nice pool of potential renters.

Regarding the slow activity, my realtor friend indicates that home owners tends to remain in the area without selling.  

The house I live in which I bought three years ago for 30K just appraised for 75K and that's with a Wells Fargo drive-by appraisal which tend to be low.

But I need to one, prevent the weeds from growing back, and two, figure out a low cost low maintenance option to cover the dirt ground so it can be a nice enough outdoor area.This is for a C property for reference but the area is quickly changing and and the tenant base tends to be 25-35 year old's.