That is old news.  2x4 and 2x6 construction is mandatory, and drywall and midrange or better finishes are  most common. 

That being said, you can overcome some of the challenges of distance with technology, such as if you receive video (or photos) along with maintenance requests from your out-of-state tenants, allowing you to keep some visual on your property from a distance.If you are comfortable with distance, there is a price-to-rent ratio that may come in handy for you and end some of the analysis paralysis.

Sometimes it's best to keep in the original owner's name because the insurance is often cheaper if they've owned it for a while with no claims.Regarding paying him off when the balloon is due, I think the most common approach would be to get long term financing and pay your uncle off. 

This is fairly common in investments where there are service partners and capital investors. 

Unexpected cash calls, short occupancy periods, higher and higher turnover costs are very common when investing out of state - especially when the buyer is looking for higher cash flow.Cash flow is a calculation.  

These are people who could be ready to downsize and are tired of doing maintenance and are ready to downsize.

They are very high maintenance because I sell the properties on lease options two end buyers and they take care of the properties.

Took him 1.5 years to close on a property.If you are looking for a fixer-upper it is somewhat common to get a price reduction. 

It's common for Bay Area people to have a big wad of 1031 cash from selling a single family that they'll readily over pay for a small apartment in Sac just to not have to pay taxes on their previous sale.

I am told we most likely want a Tennants In Common agreement where we equally share 50 percent and all of our individual terms will be written into a separate legal contract.