However, I also realize that it is, in today's world, easier than it ever has been to manage a property from afar via the internet, so I am not yet willing to take purchasing a multifamily home to "house hack" off of the table for my ~1-year stay in Baltimore.

Agreed its truly sad that the wholesale guru's pitch this stuff like this or its all over the internet.. one thing to keep in mind is real estate has cycles and it has locations that make things possible when your in a deep trough of a cycle or in a area were there is limited demand from anyone expect investors ..   

I've seen companies lay off thousands of engineers and programmers at a time, but no one walks away from infrastructure.Amazon announced three more centers in Las Vegas.

We also have a Roku with all the normal streaming apps and gig speed internet. 

There's also a lot of hostility and dismissive attitudes about it; just like there was about the internet when it was first invented. 

Also check the HOA fees and what is included with them, i.e. water, basic cable, Internet etc.  review their financials as well to be sure the community is well run and putting aside reserves for capital improvements like roofs and paving.

Using the conservative $700 per room number x 5 bedrooms =$3,500 per month with a $1,700 mortgage payment (20% down payment on a 400k house).Total Rents = $3,500- Mortgage PMT = $1,700Net Cash Flow = $1,800- Avg Utilities w/internet = $450Net Cash Flow After Utilities = $1,350- Maint/Vac/Cap Ex Reserves (10%) = $350Net Cash Flow Per Month After Reserves = $1,000 per month.  

He's a programmer and smart guy so he said lets sit down and look over the contract line by line.   

Seller Leads: Cold Calling, Direct Mail, SOI, and internet adsBuyer Leads: App leads (Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin), SOI, Social Media engagementSince inventory is historically low right now I think it would be best to focus on lead genning for sellers as that's what the market is demanding for and will yield better returns for you. 

Jackson MS got hammered major water lines burst every where national guard had to truck water in.. we just had it here in Portland area I was without power internet cell service for 5 days.. some will be weeks..