I may be in the minority but I avoid scratch and dent for a rational or maybe irrational fear. 

I love the central valley while more expensive than Charleston, the low taxes and insurance.

If so I'm hoping to avoid the mess of payroll taxes and penalties for not paying on time.

To do that and avoid having to be a mortgage originator (which you may need to address anyway under the SAFE Act) is have the broker send you their note and you close in your name, then assign the note and DOT and they can fund at the table.

Kind of ghetto, neighboring houses messy-ish, all houses are unique (they aren't all stucco houses built by a central planner... so there aren't rows of houses that look the same...), they are older houses...Should this not stop me from looking?

Being realistic about expenses will avoid such a mistake.

Using a trust vehicle eliminates any non assignability issues, and avoids additional costs with a double close.

I'm Robert in VA.I'm looking for multi-family in Central VA.Am just getting started in investing.

Say there is little equity with a pretty house.If you could offer the seller full sales price and avoid a sales commission on a LO, is that an idea?

I've looked everywhere - read books, attended REI meetings, but nobody seems to talk about that step - they seem to avoid it.