Most people looking in from the outside think you have stacks of cash and spend your days shopping for high end clothes.

Many of the trades do not run crews so the project price has to support the main guy and his family and life style.

There is no investment here, so this is really a life style decision.

Walls or damp to touch, and some clothes are now moldy.

Typical ranch style with desert landscape.So as a rental is $145,000 a decent selling price point?

Once you add-in the cost of utilities (especially heat), furnishings (couches, tables and chairs, beds, sheets, towels, table cloths, pots and pans and plates and silverware, napkins, toilet paper, TV's and radios, washer and dryer and refrigerator - yes, it's common for a long-term SFR not to include a washer, dryer, or refrigerator - etc, etc, etc), plowing/lawn/trash (or HOA fees), cleaning, extra repairs and maintenance (I promise that a long-term house renter takes better care and causes less wear and tear than a revolving door of vacation renters), turnover management and screening, etc, etc, you are not making any more with the vacation rental than with the long-term SFR where the tenants pay all the utilities (possibly with the exception of water/sewer), and take care of the lawn and snow, and provide their own furnishings soup to nuts.

and it seems that the variable cost of heating in the winter is chewing up the potential profits of most multi family properties on the market, so originally my plan was to invest and hold onto small two or three unit multi family properties, but now it seems like small single family homes, I'm thinking ranch style, are maybe better because it's not expected for me to pay any portion of heat, and if the property is on the smaller side it would be easy for the tenant to heat. 

They were so appreciative of the quality and style.

As for where to actually find the properties...every market and style is different.

My husband and I are considering upgrading to a bigger home and then renting our current cape style home in Boston.