Also, the majority of Title Companies do not specialize in Investor deals so finding one that is Investor friendly is key.I am the head of the Investor Division at World Class Title and we specialize in Investor deals.

I've worked with this population in the past and the majority live in C or D class neighborhoods.

Using your analogy with the 2/1, you need to find it for lets say ~130k and it needs 70k worth of repairs/remodeling to give you an APR in the 250-300k range and make sure you can rent it for >2k a month. in order to make the greatest cash flow you need to find the most rundown houses to fix, or go on the less desirable areas. unfortunately that's where the majority of investors are as well. i'll give you an example of one i just completed. it is in an up and coming neighborhood. some parts are scary, while new construction of luxury townhouses are within a block. it's a duplex with a 3/1 and a 2/1 (i know i said i wouldn't usualy get these, but it was a really good deal).

Selling a property in the first 7ish years with a mortgage is not great because the strong majority of your mortgage payments are interest and the principal balance doesn't go down much. 

This isn't a complete business plan but it's a solid component of it. 

I think it would give a major jumpstart to rentals for me even though the only money made is in equity.

However, the big hurdle has been that most lenders that we have spoken with want to see the retail component of the project at least 50% leased prior to commitment.

I too pay close attention to current components and appliances condition and life expectancy.  

However, I do get calls for major plumbing repairs, air conditioners, and hurricane damage - hence the need to factor in maintenance.

It wasn't anything major, but certainly some work.