My market has turned into a blood bath fighting for rehabs pressing prices above reason, all the while rentals with a vacancy rate of 3% and a solid 5%-7% annual appreciation on rents across the board each of the last 3 years with the only change in sight to be growth to those returns.

Take a two bed two bath in the Sugar House Area.

Alvin, Texas City, Conroe, Baytown, Lake Jackson, Splendora, Freeport, Sugar Land, Richmond, Rosenberg, etc. 3/2s, around 150k-180k ARV, lower HOAs and MUD fees, homes tend to be similar making comps more reliable if you are doing long distance.

It sounds like you put a lot of blood, sweat and tears in it and it paid off. 

You can't get blood out of a stone.

This house wasn't salable then, and it isn't now, even though WE are throwing money, blood, sweat and tears into it.

Very desirable area.Also look into Sugar Land, Missouri City, and even as far down as Pearland, Friendswood, etc.Hope this helps!

So when you go to sell, unless your market skyrockets, you are not going to make much if any after only making a handful of payments.In my opinion the better option is to put the 3.5% down (FHA), put your blood, sweat, tears and money into it.

This is why you see so much sugar in everything and/or high fructose corn syrup. 

Depends on how the exiting tenancy is going, how clean they keep the place, if there's "bad blood" between you & them.