Respectfully I would tell you to concentrate on getting pre-approved with a lender as your first step.

I believe that the best bang for your buck is to concentrate on the kitchen area, bathrooms and master bathroom. 

The first position will continue through foreclosure in order to remove the other liens, apply the safe harbor for the hoa and mitigate their losses.So data wise concentrating in disqualifying characteristics will allow you to assign the investment strategy to each scenario.Its definitely a fun challenge but very time consuming in my opinion real-estate is in desperate need for innovation.

@Stephen Wong If funds are limited, I would ensure that the property is clean, organized, and somewhat appealing on the outside, then concentrate the remaining funds on the inside until you can afford more exterior upgrades.

I personally concentrate most of my time and effort on <50 unit multifamily anywhere in between Atlanta and Columbus, GA.

@Tom WagnerLot of Software companies are concentrated in couple of areas:1.

I tell a lot of first time buyers, concentrate on VALUE, current rental value, potential appreciation value, and lifestyle value.  

You'd be blown away by the progress these countries have made over the last 10 - 20 years.As to Mexico, everybody knows that it has a problem with drug-related violence but it is concentrated in the kind of areas you mentioned where foreigners don't go, let alone buy property.

So you can many times save money and eliminate time pressure by concentrating your 1031 replacements in as few properties as possible. 

If that's the case, what military locations would you choose to do short term rentals that have a large concentration of short term rental needs?