Coos Bay in particular was primarily a timber town and has had some difficult economic periods since it's hey day, but the downtown has grown up, there's yoga, a farmer's market and even a new Starbucks (which by the way you buy the brand new building they lease from!)

That was fine by me, but I'm uninterested in making her money any longer than I have to. 

I would love to hear your thoughts, even brief comments.

Even if you aren't ready to buy, it will give you so much insight as to what properties are in what areas, how much they cost, etc.I'm an agent here in Pittsburgh and I work strictly with investors.

They also will be active in looking to help you find properties, probably even off-market.

Become an LO in the Private/Hard Money space, and pursue both.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560, little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

You may drastically lower your living expenditures and increase your capacity to save for future investments by renting out some of your units while you live in others.Starting with a duplex or triplex is a sensible choice, given your aims and money.

You will need to put time and money into getting off market properties. 

You further implied using a hard money lender - why?