You might save money doing some or all of the rehab work yourself, but it will eat up a lot of your time.

We have about 6 sets of staging furniture that we move from investment property to investment property, and if we have extra furniture that doesn't have a home, we will either do staging for other investors we know or we'll store it at our house (we have about a thousand square feet of unfinished space at our house).Btw, we often sell parts or all of the staging furniture with our houses (good negotiating tool!)

You'll also likely incur self-employment tax on part or all of the income as well, depending on your situation and how your business is structured.

@Bryan Scott - I like this approach (because it makes sense for her) and am hoping that now that she's realizing the situation she's put herself in that she will be more receptive to implementing some (or all!)

All cash or all cash and no contingencies?  

So, I was wondering if it would be better to buy 3 or 4 rental properties (average price say $75,000) and hold those for 16 or 17 years and then sell some or all of them to pay for college or just put money away every year into a 529 plan.Anyone have thoughts on this?

So odds are you won't find a great deal in Denver, Nashville, Austin, Seattle, or all of the other monster appreciation markets. 

It's important to note that GRM only takes into account the GROSS income so situations where tenants are paying part or all of the operating expenses will be different from those in which the landlord covers all of the op ex.

How much are the reserves for the HOA (inadequate reserves mean that fees will be going up)?

It would be more palatable to make an offer in the 70-80K range (run your numbers, you still have a good deal) or perhaps 60-70 if you find a major issue which may require you to vacate some or all units while it is repaired.