But it is good for a lot of things, and offers a good physical barrier (as well as tax write off).

It was touted as a possible "next Fountain Square", but it's actually quite bigger than FS, with less attractions (restaurants, shopping, etc), but the proximity to downtown makes it appealing.

Because the physical location was awesome, I absolutely loved living there.

When you start to really analyze deals (and by that I mean plugging in ALL the line items on a property (income, expenses, financing cost) and doing the same after you've repositioned the property to give you an idea of how it will perform) you'll start to develop a "feel" for a property based on the #s, market, physical condition, etc.

There are numerous tenant support groups and charities that can provide you with rent on behalf of someone who is struggling.That being said, There are other citizens that will bring security and physical and chemical risk to you that you and your business will not be able to deal with.I wish you luck.

and if forming in those states will affect the ease in which I invest in my current state of FL (close proximity to AL as well) or my home state of Virginia. 

is in your low value asset rust belt mid west.. were your dealing with 10 to 20k houses in the first place. what value will they have if its some huge number to remediate  these items, I can  see a scenario were houses will just crumble to dust as they don't have enough physical and economic life in them.. 

It's bricks and mortar, not quantum physics.

I don't know the rules in your area, but you need to know them inside and out.I see 5% for physical vacancy, but what about economic vacancy?  

Sacramento main economic driver is it's proximity to the state capital, education, and a few other services jobs.