Not only is it possible to invest here in the DC area....you will ultimately make much more money investing here.  

Ultimately pushing you to consider giving them an offer.

Have you read The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing?

Ultimately, free cash flow after setting aside 10% into a repair fund will go to finance more investment properties, etc. 

The ultimate questions are around loan relative to home value and creditworthiness of the borrower (for simple cases; obviously things could differ).  

I know you do not want to hear this however; ultimately you are liable at this point at least on the New York point of view.

Ultimately I ended up using PenFed as the had a lower rate.

Many of us don't have time to deal with bad PM's, but it's a reality of the business, and ultimately a good investment will outweigh the bad PM (as long as it's identified an corrected/replaced early) in terms of long term gain/profit.But that's coming from someone who is by no means an expert....

There are a few of us here on BP, and while we cannot self-promote, there are tons of forums that discuss our pros and cons. 

A good palace to start is the podcasts as mentioned and the Free Ultimate Beginners Guide, under the education tab above.