It'd help to look up the demographics of the target area and combine that information with the types of homes being sold and use all of that information to make your choice. 2.

But there are not many good choices in this seller market, either buying REO required a lot of work, or investing out-of-state.

I personally haven't attempted to find an alternative.  

In our experience (only 2 units, but over ten years) the worst of the worst tenants are those that made the choice to damage housing or not pay for housing when times got tough.

What would you suggest as an alternative?

(I'm certified to pull the full credit report)I verify the landlord to be a legitimate landlord/property management company or if it's a private landlord: verify with public records/county records.Call/fax/email the landlord to request references, call/email every day up to 7 days.Check alternative sources for bad/good reports about tenants rental history.

If you are interested in being an investor as well as an agent then a Keller Williams office is probably a better choice. 

Given the cost and market I don't think the cost of stripping the brick is a choice right now and painted brick is very common in the area.

As an alternative to turnkey, I have more recently focused my buy and hold investing with a company that offers interests in portfolios of 10 SFRs at a time, that are co-owned by the managers for diversifying and aligned interests.  

Alternatively you could also serve a 30/60/90 day notice to quit depending on length of stay and/or housing assistance rules.