Frederick is higher class tenant base than Hagerstown.

If you've owned the duplex for longer than a year and it's on taxes, there's no restriction to the income that is calculated (as in it doesn't have to zero out; it can give you income on paper). 

Laminate counter tops look ok, not great, but they show very little wear over time and are cheap to replace when they get damaged.We use agreeable gray paint for the walls in all of our rentals - it wears well, shows dirt less than white.

Still better than renting and wasting 4-5k per month on a place that isn't even as nice or big as the home I was able to secure.

day 1 MLS listing, offered less 1 week closing, they took it.

In today's market, many office landlords would much rather walk away from their properties and take a loss than fight to attract tenants and avoid foreclosure.

General BackgroundNewbie investorNo credit available (poor credit and repo due to major health issue).Multiple tax years of returns due (nominal to no income)Unplanned ownership from inheritance and Florida Condo Collapse.Need to do a 1031 exchange and avoid capital gains while trying to invest in my own residential property.ScenarioI have a paid off condominium property located in Florida.

The California investors that do invest in markets like Ohio typically invest there because they can get more cash flow than if they were to buy in CA

It creates shopping lists and little bonuses like that so it has a few more things than the spreadsheet that comes with your Flipping/Estimating books.  

Most S8 tenants have credit scores under 580, so that's not really going to help.Maybe if you checked 36th District Court records for any landlord-tenant issues...If the seller (or their PMC) actually did a Verification of Rent (VOR) with the tenant's last 2 landlords, you might find out they left a lot of damages when they moved.