Ultimately, I decided to stay local for now.

It ultimately cost us almost $100,000.

One way to look at owning a tax deed is as a long-term option on the property that never really expires.If you want to ultimately take over the property, you may elect to just wait out the year or, if you hope to speed things up, you might try to contact the owner and ask them to quit claim their interest to you.

Even though I told our long term tenant about what we were doing and she thought she'd be okay with it, ultimately she didn't like all the different people coming and going. 

Ultimately, the decision should align with your investment goals, risk tolerance, and the amount of time you can dedicate to managing your properties.

We're doing the finishes our selves to keep costs low and we'll operate it as a short-term or mid-term rental to boost gross rents.

Ultimately, I want to quit my job (of course), move to a new area and focus on REI.

Hi Sara, Ultimately, the decision to keep the property as a rental or sell it within the 5-year window will depend on a combination of financial, market, tax, and personal factors.

This time we studied multiple exit strategies and ultimately we found a nice balance that seems to work. 

Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner.