What an excellent post!  

If its your burning desire to run and manage SFR's for a living then I think moving to Detroit and setting up shop is an excellent idea.. and I think you can do that in a number of rust belt cities.. and some cities in the deep south and basically achieve the same results..

Written with the beginner in mind, it is an excellent place to start, and can answer many of your questions. 

However, I have experienced calls with lenders who have been nothing short of excellent, whether in their professionalism, willingness to educate me further, and if nothing else, their willingness to provide me with further direction if they themselves may not be in a position to assist me.

In addition they well probably get you a better deal on the house by identifying more issues and doing an excellent job in conveying t hem to the seller. 

Trying to absorb all of the excellent information.

Excellent idea, Charles.

In my area I've found that many (not all) MF properties that are "mixed in" SFH neighborhoods are nicer (and pricier) than those clumped in a pocket of MFs.My advice (as a newb) is that if the numbers work it could be an excellent opportunity, but make sure the cash flow works with both sides rented out (non-owner occupied) and with property management fees.  

This provides an excellent chance to command higher rents, especially if the property can use some rehab to become a higher quality product with new higher quality tenants willing to pay more.

One of my other favorite podcast is called Art of Charm.