Nowhere is safe.  50 years from now short term rentals in residentially zoned areas will not exist. 

@Steven Hamilton II hi Steven,Is this related to same topic or a seperate tax law to the 750 hour Real Estate Professional benefit (in my case something to consider for spouse in future) tnk you. https://www.claconnect.com/resources/articles/2019/irs-safe-harbor-on-section-199a-impacts-tax-filing-for-rental-real-estate

These investors are typically large financial institutions looking for safe, predictable returns, such as pension funds, insurance companies, and banks.Key concepts to understand in economics and finance are risk and reward.

If you want to learn more about the practice (and art) of safely and securely finding and funding a PML to see if it's for you, check out my book on BiggerPockets called Lend to Live: Earn Hassle-Free Passive Income in Real Estate with Private Money Lending. 

You don't mention how old this place is, you don't mention where this place is, but I think it's pretty safe to assume your place was once a big old single-family residence that was Mickey-Moused into a Section 8 duplex maybe fifty-sixty years ago and sits squarely in what is now a D-class neighborhood.Sell it.

Most of the multi-family units in Jacksonville that I think are in an area that I would feel safe are in riverside/5 points or San Marco.The issue, I think, with Jacksonville is that the supple of Multi-family units is low which makes the pricepoint of them higher.

Hopefully, this first investment will launch our journey in real estate.Here are some criteria we have in mind:Not in downtown SacramentoClass C+ or B location, since we will be living in one unit (we just want a safe location)Units with shared walls, not ceilingsSeparately meteredFairly renovated or well-maintained (not a fixer-upper, but if one unit is renovated and the others need some work, we would love the experience of fixing and renovating)Can you think of any other factors we should consider?

It is landlords responsibility to make sure the house is safe and habitable, which includes making sure all safety features are operating correctly.

My recommendation is to choose cities in safe and economically diversified areas with above-average income and population growth.

As long as you're not discriminating against a protected group you will be safe to decline potential candidates who don't meet criteria.