If your tenant has been playing these "schemes" then likely they've done this with the previous landlord and gotten away with it - so I hope you bought the property for a good price in order to account for this potential headache. 

I was hired to get things back on track, but she wouldn't play ball, so I filed for eviction.

Talk to a CPA to see how each scenario plays out.A 401K continues to grow in value, but what do you live on? 

We put a sign on every property to: attract tenants, create brand awareness, and to help prevent scammers from using our properties as bait. 

Contractors play such a huge role in real estate projects.

In Phoenix, a 1996 build is practically brand new when compared to a WWI-era home in Cleveland or Pittsburgh or some other Midwest or East coast city.While I agree that older homes come with more problems, buying something newer may not work as the price will be higher and won't cash flow as well.I'm of the mindset to buy what fits your budget and investment goals.

(Previous rent was $1,300 but we're about to put in a brand new kitchen from the studs, new flooring throughout the house, new furance, adding A/C, etc).So do we just pay for it all upfront and mostly drain all of our savings, or do I let the rent pay for it and utilize our other savings to get a second property this spring/summer to increase our cashflow? 

This in turn will kill your exit strategy if you are not doing your due diligence and playing conservative.

You may want to first explore cities that you are already familiar with.Think of cities where you grew up, went to school, like to vacation to or see family.You will have a better idea of what the good / bad parts of town than a brand new city that you are unfamiliar with.Best of luck.

If the contract was sketchy at 3 pages I wouldn't have faith that they will play fair.