I have a blended approach of cash flow and equity appreciation and it's worked well for me.  

Knowing what to look for from multiple angles (big picture, as @Bill Gulley stated) helps present a creative, if not blended solution that makes a property turn I to a deal!  

Throw it in with all the other unsolicited advice you get and blend on high.

I would want something wood tone to blend in rather than stand out.  

Biggest lesson so far has been: balancing patience blended with impatience.

Based on the range of these GRMs, choose a number that seems most appropriate (some appraisers will simply average them all together - others will just choose a number) ... take the GRM value you've decided to use and multiply it by the monthly rent you expect for the duplex you are pricing out - this will give you your "income approach" value.Now, you look at the two values you've just generated and use your best judgement as to which is most accurate - or it might be a blend of both.To give you a real-world example of this, some clients of mine just closed on a duplex in Raleigh ... the appraisal came back with $468k for the sales comp approach - $594k for the income approach - and $480,200 for the replacement cost approach ... the appraiser selected $468k as the market value.Hope I made this clear enough for people to follow and understand...

You're blending personal and investing.

We spent October- December 2016 getting our financing in order, finding a realtor and then a second when the first didn’t work out, finding a property manager and then a second when the first didn’t blend well with us and reviewing listings online.

He's investor focused, so he's pretty experienced with the B lending market.

I usually charge $20-50 for the patching you described, should be 20 minutes(or less).ALSO, I strongly suggest you use factory premixed color, I use Home Depot Behr Swiss Coffee, it makes it easy to blend future repairs and when we have turnover, its just quick freshen up coat, without having to go full on multiple coats of paint and primer, or set up for spraying, etc.