Every house is different and every owner is different.

Unfortunately, the vast of them have houses and other buildings or improvements on them so I can't compare the public records. 

I personally think out-of-state investing is a top choice.

@Don KonipolAll 3.I am a fund manager for my company, I personally also own real estate (rentals, land) and invest passively as well.Being the fund manager is what I am always most excited about.

Here are my initial thoughts:-Making the offer contingent on seller showing me background check documents from their due diligence-Requesting for a walkthrough of the property after the offer is made, and reserving the right to pull the offer if the house is not maintained wellAre these ideas practical?

I went there to drop off something for a person working there and, stopped in my tracks! 

We’d also like to buy a house to move into in the near future and of course dropping $100k of savings into property 2 would delay that.

I spoke with the owner and looked at the house one year ago.

Given your situation, I think the best thing to do is 1) work on improving your credit and 2) look to house hack, preferably a duplex or fourplex where you live one unit and rent out the others.

@Nima MalboubiI personally think that the risk is relatively low with only four units.