I know this is a vague question, so here are some specific examples:(1) After washing clothes, tenant hangs clothes out to dry, so you have towels, panties, colored bras flapping in the wind. 

I only had to patch a tiny screw hole and replace towel bar anchors (the ones in the kit were pretty weak) from the last tenant.  

Do not give up on your home market just yet, especially after you've already had success there ... study what they are doing to succeed, learn from them, and do the same if you choose ... or if after learning from them you choose not to, well hey, you still learned something that will likely help you and at least you gave it some thought and hands on research rather just believing whatever you read on online forums from folks that don't live in your market and in many cases have a vested financial interest in convincing you to buy property out of state.

A FHA 203k would allow you to fund the cost of purchase + rehab + 6 months of mortgage payments + soft costs as long as the sum total doesn't exceed the max.

My wife is a petite, beautiful brunette that is soft spoken and sweet.

There are soft market hits that can reduce the above stated LTV.

I have the bathrooms dressed with primary color towels, and a few candles to light in the fireplace, but that's it.

After allowing for soft costs (repairs and vacancy) reserves of 12%, I look for a 12-20% cash on cash return.  

Clothing or towels that are left damp are the most common to develop mildew in the home.

The parcel the house sits on then transferred a second time (a year later) from the long time owner and xxx Esq to Wells Fargo, and then Wells Fargo to HUD.