Asbestos is considered dangerous when inside the living area of the home.

Stop that immediately, collecting cash personally is seriously dangerous. 

Do those other forms require less knowledge, expertise and fewer relationships?

In my market 10K won't get you anything that's not in need of some serious TLC or in a very dangerous area, and we're not that high on prices compared to other markets.

I'm not trying to be condescending, but at this point you probably are not even aware of all the things you don't know, and that is a very dangerous position to be in.  

But it can also be argues otherwise, more danger if you're present etc. 

You will have more inventory to choose from and quite possibly more value add opportunity with SFRs, but there will be fewer distressed properties and the initial cash flow on paper in B class as opposed to C class.

@David Dachtera, I agree, too much cash at hand could be dangerous.

Are there things you can do to help limit the nuisance/dangerous animals from the property?

He gets first lien position and a better return than mutual funds offer. i get private financing cheaper and with fewer hoops than hard money.