It boils down to the product, if you have a good product that people can attest to, they will want you units regardless, if you have sub-par units you will have a tough time renting. 

I had wanted to buy for years but it hadn't made sense as we were young and poor ensigns.

I went to Than Merril conference but as soon as I realized it was less training and more selling of their products , I lost interest .

I don't like quoting those high rates associated with poor FICO scores, so I'll generally go with the 'credit fixing game plan' route. 

., one big issue is that using your model of "flipping" you will not be able to use the 1031 exchange so you need to put ordinary income tax + Self employment etc into your proformas to make sure you can still get the return you want.1031 exchanges are for property that has been held for "productive use in business trade or investment".  

I really loved "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki, who's really motivated me to want to learn all aspects of investing and the business of real estate. 

the guarranteed income is nice, but a poor credit score due to late payments tells the bank that it doesn't matter how much money she makes, she isn't going to give it to you ( the bank) anyway. if her credit score is bad because of misinformation on her credit report, thats a different story. i can educate her on how to clear that up. we need more of the story here. 

Are these just the poor areas of town, or is there a more systemic issue holding the area back from being a good area to invest in?

Fear is a poor driver of decisions. 

"Although the working poor of New York would explode into the worst riot of American history in 1863, these people did not provide the cutting edge of labor protest in the antebellum era.