@Jose Morales Is there a reasonable expectation backed by fundamentals suggesting these properties valued at $25K will appreciate?

Don't let them choose for you.Just inspect what you expect....Also I would talk to housing office in Memphis to get a feel of how many people are on the Section 8 waitlist, what kind of rents they pay, what zip codes are they targeting, see if they have any stats about how long tenants stay and average rent.While a lot of people try to look at google street view to get an idea of the neighborhood, there is no substitute for visiting in person.

Personally, I would not keep a rental that is not expected to cash flow. 

Is it realistic to ask for and expect to get at least 2 landlord references and 2 tenant references (current clients) if I am a " small time" landlord with one property, not multiple units?

The problem this creates is that of expectation.

However, there may be a commonly expected way of handling it in your area.

Still lots of work to do on the house and the “book” I still have to figure out what to do for it (paper/digital/both), and a few more things I probably am not yet aware of … reading on this forum and asking questions sure has helped out a lot.

investors can figure on 10 to 12% return on PMLs   generally they are short term 6 months to 18 months.. in my 40 plus years at PML I find most investors started as landlords then tire of it and start to diversify.

Quote from @Sebastian Bennett: @Russell Brazil Why do you expect expenses to go up? 

That said, he should give you updates whether they are not what you expect.