Linda,Welcome to the BP forum, it's one of the bes REI sites right now loaded with seasoned investors and seasoned professionals able to help with every angle. 

Part of me wants to turn down the application due to the concerns around this criminal history, the other side of it is it is a tough market currently and slow season ahead and insisting on rejecting the application would likely create serious rifts with my property managers (whom I have generally been fine with otherwise) as they are pushing back on rejecting due to criminal history from years ago.  

Continue reading, listening to podcasts (like BiggerPockets), and connecting with seasoned investors to soak in as much as possible.2.

Welcome Scott,There's a ton of useful resources here on Bigger Pockets from calculators designed to show profit/loss to seasoned investors giving advice.

The flexibility of your location near a major hospital opens up a lot of potential to experiment with different rental strategies to see what works best.One thing to keep in mind, especially right now, is that we’re heading into the "slower" season for rentals.

Unless you have very small apartments or with strange layout, I think you should be shooting for higher rents in this neighborhood which would probably make the decision for you to just go ahead and get the rehabs done before next year's high demand rental season.

It’s a gamble, but just looking for ideas from more seasoned real estate minds.

You seem like a seasoned investor, but many folks hold the properties all in their own name and while you can do an LLC transfer, being able to "wipe" your portfolio and start a new as a smarter investor then when you started is really nice if you can do it in a tax efficient way 

Pillow cases take a beating so we have extras of those.Whatever you choose, make sure you have 3 sets of everything to facilitate easy, quick turn overs.

I've got a clsoe contact.. a seasoned realtor down there who's helped investors navigate the post-storm market successfully.And hey, if you ever want to chat about investing in other markets like Phoenix, where I've been helping folks find great opportunities, or even places like Austin and San Antonio, I'm all ears.