Better safe than sorry is the way I look at it. 

If I were to acquire the property, what would I have do to make this a legitimate (and safe) dwelling without putting myself at risk?

If you can ditch a $300 a month car payment, and drive a beater, (my Chevy is currently old enough to vote and drink for itself!) 

I would never invest out of driving distance (about an hour) unless it was a Turnkey provider like Memphis Invest or Maverick Investment Group.All good areas are harder to find a deal. 

I am 100% confident you will run in to this.The easiest way to avoid these arguments is to get a full appraisal done prior to discussing an offer with them.Summary:1. get an appraisal if selling to the tenants or at the very least a full CMA with on site visit- not a drive by2. sell as soon as you can if you can get your money out of it you want3. be prepared for lower offers from tenantsDoes all this make sense?

We can drive to our properties which would be different for you being in the bay area.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for good cities to start investing, that are safe, clean and have reasonable property prices!

One of my main goals is to have units and tenants that my wife can manage and safely collect rent or do the inspections on.

You drive the neighborhood.

I haven't used a broker so I can't make any recommendations in that regard, however I do recommend as you drive around your city take note of properties that match what you're looking for.