My wife and I have invested in relatively low end townhouses in MoCo, however we are finding it challenging to find multi-family in that area or any place close to DC within our price range/level of risk.Either we've felt uncomfortable with the expense of the multi-family properties or (perhaps incorrectly) equated the higher priced properties as a tradeoff of low cash flow and possibly higher appreciation (due to increasing rents) vs higher current cash flow and lower appreciation in the more remote areas.

Having the rent for an area you're not investing in won't help you much, frankly, since there's different factors that come into play to affect rent levels.

An investor will need to know the risk level.  

Even at a contractor level, I wont compile a material list of all of it.

I did this program at the lowest level.

Expensive and may not be worth it: Level it with self-leveling compound.

Full disclosure my company is one of the larger property managers in the area but there are a few others that I have had positive experiences with that can share for your research if you would like.The best strategy will be the one that matches your skill level, resources and tolerance for risk.

I stand by what I said, and will not sink to your level.  

Also, show me a multi-family investment with out problem tenants at every level.

My rule of thumb at this level is 1.