My saving grace, is that mostly everything is pretty new, so hopefully no big problems coming my way...A part of me is inclined to refinance now, which would increase my rental income to $2,300 from the current $650 (I do have access to 20K for emergencies, a credit card).

A far more successful method would be to increase earnings, reduce spending, and save up.

I'd get rid of the consumer debt, then focus on increasing your allocation to equities and starting some fixed income.

I have searched high and low for services (Doorstead, Craigslist) but it seems no one is offering that level of service, or if they do I don't trust they can deliver considering my specific needs (experience with potential section 8 type community) in an increasingly gentrifying part of town.

In NJ, "30-days" is technically not the standard.

This increases the property's value and can allow you to charge higher rent, improving your cash flow and the property's appraisal value for refinancing.Rent: Lease out the newly acquired and rehabbed properties, preferably to reliable tenants similar to the family you currently have in your townhouse.

At the same time, by the time the market increases in price I will be paying 1K per month towards the mortgage to cover what the rent wont cover, so its 12K per year of loss (if I get a good tenants and nothing breaks), then who knows even if the market does go up...

I have some cash coming my way soon and trying to determine if I should use some of the cash to recast some of my mortgages to increase cash flow or not.  

Fees (including points) are obvious, but lenders also can (and usually do) bump the rate a wee bit to make a "yield-spread premium" or "back-points" on the deal to further increase their profit. 

I know there has been some recent lower end apartment complexes in the area that have been bought and refaced which has helped change the look of the area but there is many duplex style homes scattered on Century 21st Dr along with Ivey Rd that increase foot traffic in the area.