Marica I had 350 C class rentals a few years back with a good portion in hud probably 80%... co pays were always a challenge and half the time never paid.. but what are you going to do evict them and subject your unit to theft and vandilism.. almost a gurantee on vacant units .. if we nursed them along usually come tax rebate time they would catch up.. 

Buuuuuuuuuuut many investors get greedy & try to buy the cheapest possible homes in the cheapest markets in the country in an effort to get more "cash flow" I've seen investors pass up awesome opportunities to buy high risk stuff because they would "cash flow" an extra $50 per month.....................$50 per month?

Asking won’t increase your premiums. they won’t give you a determination over the phone, but they’ll let you know what the usual process is.

Your largest hurdle is usually finding a contractor.

Jumping into a multi-family off the bat is not the course I usually recommend. 

Investing out of state is definitely a viable option (most of our clients live outside of AL), but just know that you'll need to put in extra legwork during your research and vetting stage. 

I found that investors usually go through several GC’s before finding a good fit.

I usually keep all of them.

@Lauren Speidel thank you for the extra detail.  

During the day I’m working as a carpenter all over the state of Rhode Island, which usually puts me 30-50min drive to the house.