The color appears uniform, so I suspect the former.You might consider sandblasting and going over the existing mortar with a lighter shade of new mortar. 

A flower doesn't bloom in the shade, surround yourself with like minded individuals, real estate or not and see how far you can get. 

I like the way it looks now, the smooth tans, the overgrown shade trees, the modern facade, and a three car garage, it looks rentable and peaceful (a nice HOME vs a house).I did a mockup for you, mainly focusing on a varnished gate, varnished front doors, less mature plantings and getting rid of the big dirty (sap dripping) pine tree over the left driveway (so it would not drip sap onto the new BMW=7 Series in the pic).These kind of things would fit in, in an upscale area, but not necessarily be better, just different.It looks like a nice house for entertaining, lots of parking. 

Quote from @Austin Shade: So I’m a young 24yr old dude who bought his first cash flowing rental property in Ohio and receiving a nice 14% ROI.

Sure you will get some clients, but they'll leave you bad reviews once they get there.If you've only seen 2, you must have super dark tint and shades on.You will have constant issues I expect. 

If it's detached new construction, it seems like it is exempt if it's mostly shaded by trees or buildings and it couldn't produce enough energy.

And even at 14 days, those stays are the ones where I get all the minor complaints and suggestions, like 'you need a bigger closet', 'you should have darker curtains', 'I changed around all your furniture', you need new weatherstripping on your front door', 'I moved your pictures to where I thought they looked best', Etc, Etc.Don't let guests get comfortable.

The large, level front and back yards are perfect for family gatherings with a multi-purpose outbuilding just waiting for your designs and two beautiful trees providing great shade in the backyard.

The large, level front and back yards are perfect for family gatherings with a multi-purpose outbuilding just waiting for your designs and two beautiful trees providing great shade in the backyard.

@Debbie Meteraud I'm on my phone at the bottom of the screen is a grey shaded area with two columns/list.