While I was waiting I went around the block and graded a guys front yard that stopped by , a quick $ 600 for 2 hours work with the tractor . 

Mortgages have a "due on sale" clause, which means the lender has the right to call the loan and demand full payment of the balance if the property is transferred to another person.Whether or not there are ways to legally get around that is above my pay grade, so I would advise speaking with a real estate attorney before proceeding.

I'm looking to begin investing in Indianapolis as well, and have seen a few good options in Irvington but I can't find much information on it, beyond the basic neighbourhood zone grade.

In a lot of ways, C, C+, B, etc are in the eye of the beholder, so look for a place you (and potential compatible tenants/roommates) will be comfortable moving around in every day and forget what grade someone else might give it.Once you have the basic requirements decided, I'd go on a real estate sales site (Zillow is my personal favorite, but also Redfin, Realtor.com etc) and just start looking around at listings in your price range to find affordable neighborhoods to target and start driving around, then drive drive drive.

We hear horror stories of contractors smoking inside projects or using the cheapest grade of materials and have been called to correct another contractors work (more expensive than our original bid).

On a grading scale from A-D, I would consider that neighborhood class C.

They are hands-off, institutional grade real estate investments, and they allow the option to diversify.

There’s a lot of investment grade properties in JC with taxes under 5k and even 4k so I like JC over Bayonne or UC.

Don't buy the cheap builder grade models as you pay for what you get. 

I wrote the ultimate guide to grading Cleveland neighborhoods.