Will be interesting to see if you can get rent bump in that area.  

so would like to start building our portfolio in a State that has consistent appreciation with room for rents to increase going forward."

December is the worst month to try to rent the property.Who determined the rent price?

This may be an opportunity to remove the tenant, refresh the rental, and increase rent significantly with a new tenant you've selected and trained.4.

We have many of these in the nice neighborhoods of Chicago and you get easy tenants, rent increases and appreciation.

If the market is tough, I reduce the rent rate over the full 12-month term.

So you are averaging $2k/mo for rent across your portfolio?

Did you look into renting to Section 8 tenants?  

The use of the accelerated depreciation strategy helps real estate investors to reduce the tax liability immediately which therefore increases their bottom line due to the offsetting of income.

That said most folks have price targets and if large complexes are conceding 1 or 2 months on the 1st year lease, itll put downward pressure on your rent to some degree.