Bad customer service (from the partners), unprofessional client information management, ridiculously long underwriting, and I’ll add this..a low-key throwing of their loan officer under the bus for information “he did not know” or “must have been mistaken” about.

Prices are low and they hit the bottom during the real estate crash.

Not that I don’t enjoy dealing with tenants, maintenance, lawn care, Home Depot and Lowe’s trips and tenant change overs (I recently put new carpets, kitchen floor, appliances, vanity and mirror in the bathroom and fresh paint in my upstairs unit).

Create the payment that’s very low in comparison to what your keeper would bring in rent.  

If you are going to be an owner-occupant, want a low down payment, and are planning to do a renovation, the FHA 203k and Fannie May Homestyle loans are your best optionsHow do you know the property is currently upside down on the mortgage? 

Cost per lead (CPL) is crucial—it shows how much you're paying to get a potential seller or buyer’s info, and you want this as low as possible without sacrificing quality.

It's too bad you don't have a pic on your profile because this is all I can picture as you rant: 

And like many other cities, vacancy rates are still low, lots of demand for housing of all types.  

We also live in a reasonably low cost of living area compared to the rest of the nation where the home prices we are looking at for rentals are between $200K and $250K. 

Make sure you buy it low enough to make it worth the trouble.