@Cody L. has much more than average investor weight here in his personal opinion, in that he has hundreds of units and has been around these investment blocks a few hundred times already. 

Hello Heather,I'm also new to the real estate investing so I'm not really sure if my opinions hold any weight, but I believe  under your circumstances, wholesaling real estate might be your best bet to gaining capital without that much extra money with definitely no credit needed.You can also look in to owner financing while gaining positive cashflow.

A little more info, an income approach alone is not used to set value, as there are 3 approaches and one is selected which is given the most weight, but all 3 are used to establish value.

I wish I could refinance them at under 4 percent (or even 5), but when I have looked at consolidation, they just consolidate under a weighted average of existing interest rates, so the savings is minimal and then the debt is lumped into one big loan rather than a bunch of small ones that you can chip away at and reduce your monthly obligation as you go.

You may also consider weighting some more of your portfolio in REITS or buying a portfolio with REIT components.

Everybody has bad days, bad tenants, bad deals on one occasion or another, but working with a team that has a track record of happy clients and good returns is going to be worth its weight in gold. 

Even if some of your fears do hold some weight...who cares!!!!

At this time I think most investors put less weight on appreciation, but it is still important in the long run.Bottom line though is know your market.

@Edward - Absolutely, networking and word of mouth is worth it's weight in gold!

We typically do a lighter color (ex. pine) laminate floor with a cream color wall and white trim.