Hey Matthew, Two things stood out to me in this post that IMO will always be relevant.1.

Things are getting more stringent with the lenders and unfortunately, no one has stood up to them yet.

After walking through all the rooms, I kind of just stood around.

We moved the kitchen to the dining room, opened up the wall and created a master suite from where the old kitchen stood.

He tried to come after me, but this time, I stood firm, threaten to sue for eviction because he violated the lease, i.e. no renters insurance, and he backed down.

There are REI direct mail companies such as YellowLetters.com that have mailers ready-to-go with copy that has stood the test of time.  

In martial arts they always taught us to learn and master the basics first, and Nickerson teaches the only method that has stood the test of time, 50+ years and still good advice (though the tax advice you can obviously skip... :)Also, a good sanity check is T Reeds list of gurus and his BS tests that he's done on each.

I have reached out to a lot of people claiming to be a full time successful investor and all they’ve done is stood me up.. once you get to a certain level in life, all there is left to do is help others do the same. 

I'm not well-versed in appraisals but a few things stood out when I read your post: I believe you purchased this house 4-5 years ago for and it reappraised a year later in the high $400s. 

Now on the flip side, after getting a lot of calls two negative ones stood out… After listing my apartment I noticed within the first week some people would call and tell me they needed to move right away, usually within that week.