Have other friends trying to do the same. 3.)

In 2008 a friend of mine spend $300,000 to buy 100 houses in Detroit.  

Just google the following: - special assessment - zombie condos - Florida condos (look for recent news)Since you are not living near the properties anyways, why not look in a landlord friendly state where the purchase prices are lower?

This alone really turned me off, we stay in hotels now and I have gotten similar feed back from other friends and family members.

Quote from @Michael Poloncic: Three individuals signed a lease together, all friends, the lease is set up where each of them are expected to pay 1/3 of the rent.

If you are in a state where eviction cost is high and it is tenant friendly you may need a higher credit score to offset default risk and eviction cost.If you are in a landlord friendly state where it is easier to get non paying tenants out you may be able to handle more none payment risk.  

They are investor friendly and popular amongst wholesalers.

That’s a serious swing, and I’ve seen something a bit like this before with a friend of mine who tackled a teardown project in a quieter part of Austin.

While I often “trade” properties, a friend of mine is a buy and hold guy.  

I only tell that stuff to my friends and people I like.