Yes beachfront will command more rent and less vacancy (you have to do the calculations to see if it offsets the cost), but it seems like this is more of a vacation home rather than a property where you are trying to maximize ROI so buy what you like.

I'm going to be a bit of a contrarian to the above posters, but let me first qualify my post by stating that your market will determine what you should do.We frequently install en-suite laundry in our units - in fact, we have removed common coin-op laundry in most buildings of 6-units or less in favour of en-suite laundry - for the following reasons:electricity and, in most cases, hot water costs are transferred to the tenant;where water is sub-metered, water costs are transferred to the tenant;high-efficency residential laundry machines are about half the capital costs of commercial coin-operated machines;we can command $30 - $50/month in additional rent with en-suite laundry;by installing our own machines, we know they are installed property, with catch/drain pans and {going forward} leak detect shutoffs; andwith en-suite laundry vandalism of laundry machines has been non-existant ... and if a machine is damaged, we know who is responsible.We have a good rapport with a couple of local appliance suppliers and get called whenever they have "dinged and scratched" units to unload ... a small, cosmetic dent in the side of a washer - which will never be seen when it is installed in a laundry closet - can be worth a 40 - 50% discount.  

A 3 bedroom property in very nice condition can command $1,000 rent from section 8 in just about any neighborhood. 

I am assuming that as military, you were freely moved around the country, at the whim of those in command and more likely around the world.

It also commands higher rents.

If you aren't short on funds, the answer might just be to do both things -- buy the rate down for $42/mo of improved cashflow, AND do the kitchen upgrade that will allow it to command $50/mo more in rent.

Also, the rate that any competent individual would command may be more than you are willing to spend.

I second @Ann Bellamy, I personally know the second in command at Crime and Death Scene Cleaning in Ipswich.

We occupied it as a primary residence two out of the past five years.We can command strong rents and have a very healthy tenant pool.Some numbers: Based on the comps, I believe we could sell for north of 200k (let's say 210k for the sake of math)We purchased the property for 130k and currently owe 117kThe mortgage, all in (PMI included) is about $970The rent is currently $1625/month (now on month to month)Our strategy is really buy and hold.

Do as I command and you will rock monkeyballz!