Obviously you need to take into account tenant landlord laws, if you are investing in Middle America it seems to me that there are many opportunities for double digit cash on cash returns.

I advise that they find an area where the appreciation is obvious.  

I do feel that Lathrop/Manteca may appreciate a little more because of it being closer to SF Bay and the jobs around here however that commute has to be a total of 3.5 to 4 hours a day. round trip.  

This brings my portfolio to 4 properties, 14 units total!

First thing I see is you're close to hitting the 2 years OO for a tax free sale on any gain...obviously you don't currently have any gain, but if you can wait it out then any future gains would be tax free...it gives you some wiggle room later. 

Obviously waiting is not ideal with the mortgage due 09/01 but I don't want to find myself with legal issues either.

We had 4 people total, and I had to pay extra for more than 2 people at $30/night per person. 

I got maybe half a dozen in total, some of the same names multiple times, and I went and looked at the houses that were being cared for by the different people.

@Ken Chud, I totally get where you're coming from.

But, excel is totally fine in the beginning (in addition to your PM software to capture transactions outside of the properties).We use QuickBooks Online exclusively for all of our REI Clients.