After that, I got a large dog crate and set it up in the master walk-in closet. 

If you finish the basement with a kitchen you could have a mother in law with a walk out and a garage downstairs.

Have you hand walked info and talked to all the people in the community? 

You might go cashflow neutral or even negative on the properties, but could probably walk away with $50k to $100k in cash.

We have had a few walk through and done property analysis on several properties, but are not really cognizant of what we are getting into.

Happy to look at properties or do video walk throughs.

First, the tenants signed a legally binding contract and do not just get to walk away on a whim.

There is no given answer here, because the whole property needs to be relatively consistent.Kitchens and baths are the common answer, but if they are passable and you choose to invest in them anyways at the expense of peeling paint (or off putting exterior color) and overgrown landscaping, the appraiser and tenant will be walking up with a bad taste in their mouth, thereby not valuing the interior work you have done.But think about the general flow of someone looking to rent: more bedrooms will typically dictate more rent.  

The home also had a small lien.Listened, offered a solution and everyone walked away happy.

An inspection contingency allows you to walk away with escrow but not recoup expenses.Best...