$40k gets me $575 in cash flow per month and enough left over to buy a used bass boat and a couple rods/reels.

The moment you go soft and "lose your edge" is the day you need to get out of the real estate business, IMO.Due to the large sums of money involved, from the price of real estate itself, the availability to leverage, financing, legal, and others, you have to stay on your toes or you stand to lose a lot of money since the money itself will attract snake-oil salesmen and con artists.You must assume everything is a lie, whether you're a landlord, a potential buyer on a house, etc.

If you want to consider this as a rental, OP, I think step 1 is speaking with a few banks/lenders about a refi (ask about one without a closing, so you don't have to absorb the soft costs).

I am going down to the courth house on Wednesday to try and get a probate list... no idea who to ask or how I'm going to get them to actually GIVE me the information however I plan to bring my undeniably adorable 9 month old and hope that the clerk is someone who has a soft spot for babies.

Their market is now soft, and they are waiting for it to turn around.

I'm beginning to feel all soft ... like @Ben Leybovich . 

This will happen long before she ever speaks with an agent or lists the property.Keep pushing to find the soft spot.

If people have kids, they want soft surfaces.

{Just this spring, we started adding a CD with soft copies of all this information to each binder} Once I get time, we'll put all of this on-line.We also provide a new toilet brush (I buy them by the case when they are on-sale for $2.99 each), a plunger, shower curtain, and a tray of cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink whenever a new tenant moves in.This costs us around $30 per turnover.

Most of the new homes I'm seeing are two-story, 3 and four bedroom, 2 to 3 bath with usually one half-bath on the main floor, full basements, 2 car attached garages.The market for more modest homes seems a bit slow due to the on-going employment and lending issues in the area.Rentals seem to not be empty very long at all, certainly, presumably for similar reasons: employment is soft and lending is a bit dear.Hoping you'll share your experiences.