Fourth, add a few decorative touches to make the home more appealing: Place a flower pot full of marigolds or brightly colored welcome mat by the front door; Set a colorful bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter; Install some decorative shelving on bathroom wall; Paint one of the walls in the living or family room an accent color that harmonizes with the rest of the room.Fifth, learn to live with and accept what that renter does with YOUR house.

It's driving me nuts!

Nothing major - a fun-colored pot, dish towels, a bowl of colorful fruit and flowers in the kitchen; a shower curtain and towels in the bathroom; etc.

(Buying local is harder to do if you live somewhere like the SF Bay area or New York City where prices are nuts. 

No nuts.

For me in my area I would take the true NOI minus $250 a door (cash flow) and if the remainder covers the mortgage nut it would get additional due diligence

If you have a mastermind that does offer soup to nuts development exposure and resources and it's a field you're passionate about (it takes stamina as the average life cycle of a project is 2-3 years) then by all means make the investment. 

Regardless of the feedback you receive, you will have to make the final decision and you will have to bear the fruits of your choice, I would say go with your intuition based on the information you have at hand.  

If on the other hand you buy in quality neighborhoods with high rental demand, then high quality properties attract high quality tenants that are willing and able to pay a higher rent to live there and your screening job is 90% complete right out of the gate ... still need to reserve 10% because there are nut jobs and basket cases applying to rent occasionally in any market, but then if you have a line of otherwise qualified tenants also wanting to rent your property as you would in such a neighborhood then it is much easier to tell them to "GTFO" as Amit M. so eloquently put it :)

Am I nuts?