Whether it's hidden gems or established areas, I'm open to exploring various options.Here's where your expertise comes in:- Promising Markets: Based on your experience, which areas offer compelling opportunities for cash flow and appreciation within the $150k range?

Should it be based on the lease value or is negotiating something based on my costs incurred plus time and suffering the better route?

Hi Leanna, Given the work you've put into the property, you can refinance based on its new value without a seasoning period.

Softwares can have differing "freshness" of data based on locations they support.For example, one software may update their pre-foreclosure list for Akron, Ohio 1x a week and another 1x a month.

You can register your STR's at the link @Carrie Foley provided and the current response time is ~2 weeks based on my submissions.

It is all based on numbers: average tax increases, average insurance increases. 

You don't necessarily need a really built out one though - even just using an AirTable base (there are a lot of free templates out there) would probably give you what you need to stay organized.

All will have about 20% net caps based on cash purchase.

I'm by no means an expert on 1031 exchanges but you can find experts on BiggerPockets if you end up needing them.There are a few other things that come to mind, I'll put them in order of most to least applicable based on the situation you've laid out.Offset any capital gains with capital losses - Maybe she owns some stock to use an easy example, and it hasn't done well. 

You seem to be focused on cash flow based on the emphasis placed on the 10 Cap in your pos but you also describe the neighborhood as "shady" which I interpret to be a lower barrier/ at best "C" neighborhood.