Start fresh and find a superior tenant at a full market price.

The best way to explaining this is for you to download an IRR calculator spreadsheet or build your own simple one and play around with one.For what its worth most deals I deem meeting minimal IRR standards is 13-15% but you have to dig a little deeper to uncover the real placements of cashflows and capitalization events... and then dig even deeper to verify the assumptions such as occupancy, rent increases per year, and what reversion cap rate was used.Again I don't look for IRR cause its manipulated a lot instead I look at total return on a 5 year basis.

My HVAC guy said it would take some money to service to just test it and see if it works- so I figured we may as well just get a new one at this point and have a fresh start.

It has fresh paint and new appliances.

Truthfully I had some medical bills back when I was 18 and fresh on my own that took a little longer for me to pay off then should have, and required a little harassment to get me to start paying, but that was before I made the realization that you can't get anywhere in life with bad credit.

Since you say you’re not worrying too much on looks, it may even be best to pick some free theme WordPress suggests on a fresh install and going with that flow.

All units are in middle of being fully renovated with all new appliances, flooring , fresh paint etc . 

I would also invest in landscaping and fresh paint throughout the exterior.

@Danual Berkley It could have been rented as-is but we put in a fresh coat of paint and made some repairs to the porch railings due to safety concerns. 

I recently sold my home (5 year live-in flip) for a 100k net profit, am single with a dog and really just want to start fresh in an area that I feel i can more closely relate too.My main question would be, should i look into buying something as an investment property (20-ish percent down) while i still have w2 income up here or would it be more financially responsible to head on down and rent for up to a year while i situate my work/living life, then apply for a owner occupied / FHA loan to save some capital.I'm not too afraid of finding a job, whether it be with a local contractor, a similar restaurant gig or really anything w2 related, as i have a solid work ethic and am not picky.