I've been interested in the bigger deals since I started learning and researching REI as I'd like to have a more passive portfolio that will replace and enhance my household income within the next 9 years.

Leverage has the ability to help you scale up quickly and enhance you ROI.... but purchasing in cash is simple, quick, and can provide some people with peace of mind.

So no shame or harm in it!

You will then have to get a new tenant into a house in a hood where these things happen.I'd enhance the security of my property with a wired set of cameras, a tried-and-true remedy for us.

Be prepared to do things to enhance the ability for tenants of both sides to get along.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

No harm in trying, maybe it will or will not work.

The other way to look at things is how the improvements enhance or detract from your net operating income.

If your ROI is higher than the interest rate and you don't have access to other funds, there is no harm in keeping them.