Our group has a little bit of everything at the moment and is always open to others.My wife and I had some of these same issues when deciding what to do and shiny object syndrome gets me every time I see a project.I suggest just picking one to start with, Long Term Rental might be the easiest then after you get that done you could try another method after that until you are confident and understand the processes to tackle multiple at once.

A mannequin behind curtains, or movable objects inside could also help to deter criminals from entering the property.

Now get connected with a great investor realtor that understands your goals and objectives and they should be able to take it from there.

In your case though, you're fortunate because Kansas City is a strong investment markets if cash flow is your primary objective.

Tenants will pay their own utilities.My objective is to repair and update whatever is necessary now so that I (ideally and hopefully) only need to concern myself with cosmetic fixes and insurable high-dollar freak accidents as much as possible over the next 20-40 years while holding these properties.With that said, do you think it makes sense to go ahead and replace the 1999 furnace now prior to refinancing so that (1) I can capitalize on the contractor's discount, (2) I don't run into having a costly replacement sooner than later with tenants in place, and/or (3) it might help up my refinance numbers?

If the foreclosing lender is a private investor, there's a chance of doing a lease option based on what their objectives are.

My overall objective is to have my own space (I have a toddler), while also getting into real estate investing. 

South Lake Tahoe recently passed a ballot measure essentially banning most short term rentals.https://www.rgj.com/story/money/business/2018/12/06/most-airbnb-vacation-home-rentals-banned-south-lake-tahoe/2233124002/ And Laguna Beach just did the same thing:https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-lb-council-20190505-story.html“We don’t want commercial ‘touristification’ in our residential neighborhood,” said resident Charlotte Masarik.Ok, well that’s not Arizona… but rumblings of similar complaints are happening in Flagstaff as well:https://azdailysun.com/news/local/airbnb-a-boon-for-owners-headache-for-neighbors/article_1abd0fbb-83ee-54d6-96c3-cd753349094f.htmlAnd Phoenix too:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2018/11/30/airbnb-rental-home-closes-shop-after-neighbors-ban-vacation-rentals/2025777002/So let's take a look at what laws regulating short term rentals are already in place.Current Arizona LegislationIn 2017, a law was passed declaring that cities, towns and counties cannot place any restrictions on short-term rental properties just because the property is not classified as a hotel. https://azdailysun.com/news/local/despite-local-objections-new-year-s-laws-include-airbnb-expansion/article_52d485d5-79cd-567f-943c-bff142e9493c.htmlThis law specifically targeted any municipalities that were trying to restrict Airbnb and other online lodging marketplaces from operating in the area.

Thus the checklist is invaluable to provide an OBJECTIVE system to analyze applicants.

Then when the Fed started raising rates earlier this year Wall Street had other shiny objects to chase and all but shut its HML support down again.