They are often more accommodating than the big banks.We maintain a $100K HELOC secured by our primary residence.

I point out that the rental agreement requires them to maintain the temperature in the whole apartment or house at no less than 55 degrees and air flow is important to keep things dry.

The dwelling unit must pass the program's Housing Quality Standards and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments.

I took a chance on her and she turned out to be one of my best tenants ever - she paid rent on time, kept the apartment in immaculate condition, decorated tastefully on holidays, and went above and beyond to maintain common areas. 

Realize that it's going to be hard to find a tenant, hard to collect the rents, a nuisance to maintain, and risky in every sense of the word. 

As an out of town investor how do maintain your property and make sure it doesn't turn into a drug den without hiring a full-time on-site manager?

In most states it only costs a few hundred dollars a year to maintain an LLC and so long as you respect it as a being separate and apart from yourself, you should be able to shield your personal assets from any exposure and sleep better at night.

This is beyond the City's powers and so the property basically maintains it's status unless it's destroyed. 

I personally am not going to invest remotely because of the risk it poses.

I am eager to learn more on how to maintain my property and maximize my profits.