She felt only mysterious other people could invest in real estate.So, I saved all the seed money on my own. 

No mystery.... sorry.If you want to get good deals on houses... start looking and start talking to "sellers" ... 

There is no magic bullet, no mystery or magic.

(A mystery postcard from no one from no where that magically landed at my mailbox!?!?!)

The cash flow in and out on these properties is a bit of a mystery to me so it's hard to determine if or how much I should leverage and if my other rentals would have to float all or some of the expenses until I get a big payday with a harvest. 

The mystery was how did the man get into the noose.

All great insights already here Winn, but if you are able to oversee the painting, there are some ways to help with this often unavoidable turn over expense....For example, this time insist on some high end paint (think specialty paint store or the very best big box stuff); try a pearl or washable finish; I like one color for all the interior of all my units, ideally a white that can hide some imperfections (know and keep the code); this means no color or matching mystery later; then on the next turn over, see if you can't get away with just a wall cleaning; use a damp sponge mop with tsp or a tsp substitute  (and then rinse it with a clean water and a damp sponge mop)..not too much water, just damp.. 

There was no requirement for the owner to do anything as far as the results from the inspection.It would be like buying a brown paper bag mystery grab-bag to buy property without inspecting it.  

I keep forgetting to update this post - the mystery smells was......the stove!

NO mystery there.