I’m from the NYC area, but the prices here are out of my budget. 

That property looks fantastic actually, I think sorting out the budget would be our biggest challenge.

@Tom OchiengI would reach out to a real estate attorney for specific advice on this situation since you already have one tenant who is being difficult.On a side note, when I have inherited tenants, I have been most successful when I have provided longer non-renewal notices, like 60-90 days, and offered to assist with moving costs.

This will give you time to figure out options in Portland.  2.  

Fix it.We eliminate as much landscaping as possible: we take out flower beds and most decorative features, ideally, lawn mowing is the only job tenants have to do, because we know that's all we can expect from most.

Please feel free to reach out.

It is surprisingly easy to manage out of state and if you want more tips on how, check out Bigger Pockets book "30 Day Stay" on Mid Term Rentals. 

Based on some of the research done, I am inclined towards starting out with a small multi family investment property (2-4 multi family home).

Quote from @Seth Singer: Hey Anthony, if you have 500k in equity I would do a cash out refi and recycle the money.

A couple of assumptions I see here stand out to me.