BUT, RE cap rates are remain compressed despite being in arguably a major recession, I worry about their sustainability long term especially when the interest rate environment changes. 

This lending environment is local so just ignore people from 1500 miles away when they tell you what a local lender will do.

I'm making $1000 per month and $800 per month respectively after accounting for vacancy. 

You might be surprised at the amount of tax professionals who operate in a virtual environment!

I've been ruminating over the low rate environment recently and whether to refi one or more of my long-term rentals, but I just struggled visualizing the full gamut of financial impacts, e.g. loan cost inefficiency, 30yrs vs 15yrs mortgages, maximizing cash flows vs cash-outs, tax positions, etc.

I've now learned that this is because so few respectable vendors will work with them after not being paid for jobs that the ones who will work with them are not necessarily the A squad.. 

We would have been better off discounting the rent 7% and finding tenants that would respect our property and rent year after year.  

Always good to work with a seasoned rep who is reliable well respected and has aggressively priced products. 

A good rule - as long as the plumbing and electric has been updated, a well-built home from the mid-20th century is a better investment and will likely outlast a newer build.Credit to the respective author

Needless to say, that killed the deal.So yes, in today's environment you need some value add strategy if you expect to have some net positive cash flow at the end.