Occasionally we have to manage a repair but that is usually not a big deal.  

A low ball offer brings out desperate sellers and occasionally it works, and you can get a smoking deal.

Occasionally you run into a seller who thinks his time shouldn't be wasted and whose high on his horse, but typically they regress after their property sits on the market a few months.I do choose my battles very carefully.

If we were to allow the short term lease, would the tenants be up to allowing the occasional showing by my property manager/realtor?

And this really effects the quality of the candidate that you can attract, with the occasional exception.But investors that don't have the capital, experience, or balance sheet to buy 500 units have to live within their means, so to speak. 

I agree, they pop up occasionally.

In a city like JC, I tend to like areas near schools and hospitals where I can rent to teachers, the occasional grad student or medical professionals. 

I dab occasionally into single family homes as well as mobile home investing.

I'll do it occasionally for some clients that I know are low-balling (not 30 cents on the dollar, but maybe 50-60) and can justify and can close 100% if accepted, but it does take time to write up 30 -50 offers, even with the proper, scalable systems in place to ease that pain. 

I look very closely at any HML letters and we follow up on those as so many are fake lenders.. then this one lender in Texas  who I see them on this site occasionally..