Plan: I live in a college town that is not friendly to the rental investor (rents are way too low compared to home prices).

I'd like to know about the number break down, risks/rewards, how to find investors that lend, how to find properties that both sides can be happy about, how this method compares to other low/no money down options, timelines, legal, etc...If anyone has any book or website recommendations please let me know!

I had to laugh about the property taxes compared to the valley.

Oftentimes my sellers are looking for something comparable to what they would have gotten in the form of refundable deposits if it were a rental, but instead in the form of nonrefundable option consideration.

Wow that sounds dirt cheap compared to what my LA attorney quoted, which included $300 just to buy a case # from court to put on the Summons, then $100 per TENANT to be served by registered process server (in my case 4 on the lease plus a couple john does!)

That almost sounds like a bargain though compared to the story I recently saw on the Fairmont Hotel charging $150,000 for a 3-night stay in their Presidential Suite that weekend. 

It's possible the properties you are looking at are sitting on the market because the rents are not comparable to the area.

One nice thing about condos is that they are relatively simple compared to a house since they are a concrete box, for the most part.

As someone else mentioned, it's probably best to hire a lawyer to do it properly. it's fairly cheap compared to the fines for an unlawful eviction.You can still call animal control, though, and have them do a welfare check on the animals. 

A good mortgage broker will be able to compare and contrast these products for you.