If it's important to be near the Bay area then maybe consider the Tahoe Reno, NV market because it's only a few hours away if you need to go to the office and it offers a landlord friendly environment, low property taxes, and no state income tax.

We were looking in Baltimore City, Maryland.My concern is that with a low FHA down payment, the monthly mortgage amount is going to be higher than it would be at 20%, and even when we get tenants in the units, the cash flow will be fairly small.

Nevada is a great place to invest because it's landlord friendly, low property taxes, tech job growth, population growth, and no state income tax. 

Does Wisconsin have any sort of Guarantee or Recovery fund for licensees?

I am looking to scale my business and am leveraging an investor (my parents) to fund my down payment for 5 % interest on a 10 year loan.

In the event that you lack the time or experience to maintain the property yourself, think about devoting time and funds to repairs and property management by working with a property management business.

Does the section 8 program provide any repair/replacement funds if house is trashed? 

We run a private credit fund investing in mortgage notes.

If in contract soon, investors can capture the peak season and make their property tweaks or improvements in the low season.

@Chandler Williams Invest in a fund