We have three tenants who owe a combined $46,000.

Hello Devang,Just for some clarification, is the $260 expenses you mention the combination of PM, Vacancy, and HOA?  

They have about 120 rooms combined. 

If you were able to find a portfolio lender to take the combined equity of the properties and give you a line of credit this would probably result in the lowest closing costs.

-Maintenance, Repairs %age, Cap ex %age: I loop these in together for now, but I have been doing ~20% for all of this combined. 

I really need help navigating how i could potentially fix this because I am not sure anyone would like it if I just made the features more modern.

Somehow Florida has managed to combine both.

The plumbing for 4 unit might cost $6,000-$8,000 for per unit cost of $1,500-$2,000.3) One siding/exterior to replace/maintain vs. 4 for SFHs4) Taxes for 4 SFHs combined will be less than taxes for 4 unit (at least in my area)5) One tangible asset to manage vs 4Benefits of investing in 4 SFHs1) Tenants responsible for all utilities2) Tenants responsible for lawn maintenance and snow removal3) Generally, tenants tend to stay longer in a SFH vs an apartment4) More exit options vs 4 unit.

I'm trying to develop a thought process/system that allows myself to step back and measure my current risk from leverage and compare that to the buy and hold opportunities in the market.Here's my system that combines some of Dave's basic advice with my own thoughts on when to buy/deleverage/wait and see:1. 

Do you think it would make sense to structure a business this way if a married couple who brings in approx. 160K combined from their primary jobs is starting out with one rental which would bring in approx 12K-24K income annually?