I inherited them, but she says she makes enough money and they have been excellent since we took over; the place is immaculate, they pay early, and I've yet to have any issues.

She makes excellent money, but if you aren't up here you'll have to find someone to change sheets every day, wipe down, etc.

It could be an excellent deal if I could pay only what is owed, but if it goes to auction it will likely go for quite a bit more. 

I suspect that the option that will work best for you is the one that fits your time limitations.

And generally, those are the same folk who already know how to create more wealth out of their existing wealth.But when starting out, (having "small pockets"), a positive cash flow model fits the bill for the main BP audience.Nonetheless, a search around BP will find very many posts recommending buying for appreciation/negative-cashflow rather than no-appreciation/positive-cashflow.

I think there's definitely a lot of money to be made in the stock market but whether or not it's a fit for you depends on your specific financial goals, temperament, and frankly -- intestinal fortitude.

This is excellent news!

I have a solid background in Excel and VBA which helped me analyze my first house hack and I've continued to keep reading books and listening to podcasts. 

The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings by Steve Berges is an excellent read

My go to right now is $130/hour, but they have excellent service (their low guy is $90).