In many areas, Jacksonville being a perfect example, neighborhoods can change within a few blocks going from reasonable to terrible.

Cosmetic updates, fixed terrible paint decisions that tenants had made.

Craigslist is a cesspool of scams and I  haven't posted a listing there for over six years.Two weeks without a single inquiry tells me you're either not marketing in the right areas, your marketing is terrible, or your priced too high.Why don't you post a link to your ad and we can look to see if there's something wrong with it. 

But having said that, there are people out there that are world-class marketers and as a result are raising boatloads of money—and perhaps are terrible real estate operators and investment managers.  

You can have the best numbers but if the condo HOA is inept and worse, corrupt - a good condo deal can become a terrible one.Me - I look at condos only if I have multiple ways to lease it or make money from it.

They're not TERRIBLE on maintenance but with every.single.one. we went through and fixed/replaced everything that we expected to cause a problem in the next 5-10 years.

I bought this house when i was 23, and the first night i owned it, i sat down in the hallway and cried because I thought I made the biggest mistake of my life. 3/1 ARM, A/C venting from wall outlets, terrible kitchen, etc.Today, this is one of my best performing properties in Oklahoma and has appreciated in value by $40k.

Just for background, I have very little capital to work with (again, terrible job), but I know houses and buildings very well.

Not a terrible thing, just don't be surprised when you see it like I was. 

I do not trust tenants, just my experience, most of the time they are terrible notifying important property issues, but they are very good at pointing out burned bulbs, clogged water closets, and the like.