Staging your house well can help you attract more attention from buyers, which ultimately helps it sell faster and maybe for a higher price than an unstaged home (see visual):What Are My Staging Options?

If you care just about positive cash flow (and you don't care about population growth, macroeconomics, or appreciation), definitely go with Cleveland.

It is a perfectly good fridge, tenants don't care.

Make sure you understand the auction process and are prepared for any unseen issues with the property.Auction Considerations: With auctions, pay close attention to the condition of the property, title issues, and financing restrictions.

I have to pressure them to take care of it. 

If something breaks they are going to get it fixed - but you want to be careful about who they call.

Don’t pay attention to what other people do.

You're learning about the eviction process, tenant screening (never "word of mouth" again), the power of a lease WHEN not IF a neutral third party needs to be involved, tenant/landlord laws, and managing tenants who don't care about your business the way you do. 

P.S. - you don't care if you don't hire a professional photographer.3.

It's just water, if it was taken care of it is not a permanent problem.Did you have an inspection?