I tried to keep the "update" as minimal as possible.

You will have to pay very minimal PMI which you can pass to ur renters and keep more $ in ur pocket.

Just trying to see if it's worth paying $80/mo. to keep a U.S. number active for such minimal use...

In the current Denver market, one would be better off fixing and holding or buying a turnkey property with minimal issues. 

Lived in it for some years and did minimal work to it.

Therefore, even if you can't rent the units for more after installing laundry, if it greatly minimizes your turnover it is definitely worth considering for that reason alone, especially if that is hard to find in a comparable property in your area.

Minimize annoying service calls and long term repair costs!

Get into something that minimizes or eliminates your cost of housing while someone else buys your equity.

Anyone willing to talk over strategies to minimize my mistakes when I start out especially with not a lot of capital to deploy. 

Thus minimizing the risk of being left with dead currency.Basically if you view Real Estate as a currency of it's own, I'd say it's one of the safest bets.