With your budget, depending on where you are working, I'd consider Silver Spring or Hyattsville  

Hi, pre foreclosure in all of its permutations, before the bank sends Notice of Default (NOD) or efter which is state even county dependant but often starts a 4 week clock till the trustee auction are the 2nd most difficult deal scenario and IMHO only experienced investors should bother, the 1st most difficult deal scenario are bidding at the court house steps on lord only knows what is being auctioned off sometimes even 2nd mortgages, you need to do so much home work to attempt to reduce your risk at the court house steps...Pre foreclosure no one talks about these issues, always about the nice sounding stuff like "motivated seller" get a good deal etc etc both are usually not the case.- 95% of folks in pre or post NOD want to stay in their house, keep their house inspite of them 100% will loose the house at the auction. 

At least when I attempted it, I discovered I could get a mortgage as a non-spanish resident usually minimum 30% down, although it depends for each bank. 

Am I correct that a condo, depending on area and neighborhood, could be a lower risk/maintenance investment for an absentee landlord as opposed to other properties?

That depends, but you can see from a bunch of posts on here that so far you're getting shafted performance-wise because a bunch of people aren't getting any dividends during a time when they could easily be earning 4-5% or more in a basic bank CD.

The violation - depending on your state - will provide a 'cure period' before eviction proceedings would begin. 

I ask this because Buildium, also a RealPage company, can actually be more affordable depending on the door count and whether you manage on behalf of others.Buildium, like Appfolio, has different tiers of membership.

How much depends on what you do for a living.

It depends. all you talked about was the property but financing is more about the borrower, their experience, their credit, the cash available etc.

And, depending on where your properties are in Portland, the value might be near its peak—selling while they’re in top condition could be a smart move.Ultimately, it comes down to what will give you the most peace of mind and the most flexibility for the future.