A" product is much more desirable than a B or C product that carries more risk.Most "A" product is owned by national corporations and leased by national tenants except for a few mom and pop spaces.These have a much lower chance of default with corporate guarantees and thus a lower rate.B or C product in suburban to rural areas is even more at risk than urban cores for lending.In many markets Multifamily and Hotels are in a buy pattern and lending is strong as most lenders see low risk at the prices buyers can purchase for.Hospitality sectors such as lodges,water parks,ski resorts are still getting pounded with a slow recovery.Industrial still seems to be doing well in many markets.Retail and Office as still seen as very weak and risky for lenders unless you have a strong B to an A product in urban cores that have already started to recover.

Instead of spending time strengthening my weaknesses, I can put that time/energy into focusing on my strengths/core competencies and partner/hire out for the rest.A couple of years back, I found a partner (@Gonzalo Matia T.) with complimentary skills and we're now working on scaling our multifamily real estate portfolio with each of us focusing on the sides of the business that we know and do well at.

IMO, at this time you'd be better off staying closer to the core of the city and looking for value add where you can force appreciate it to get an equity bump, hold for long term market appreciation, and cashflow as icing on the cake.

Way more risk, marginal to negative net gain, a far weaker equity position, likely in a lower quality asset(s), in a market where you have less knowledge, fewer contacts, and less control, all while in your proposed scenario the market is crashing (which is the proposed reason for doing these transactions) ... if you ask me, not a very compelling risk to reward proposition IMO.

Dont outsource the core tasks.

@Corby Goade  lots of options ... also look at James blog on what can go wrong if you try to buy urban core properties. 

Holding costs are a core part of the investment and need to be considered when analyzing the investment prior to buying.

My Dad lives in Evans, so I feel compelled to act neighborly.  

I am always compelled by well displayed data. 

There are plenty of SFR available in "thriving" urban core areas.