A lot of great information on the site.I have been living in San Antonio now for three years with the last two being in real estate.I am a licensed agent and an investor and focus only on the buy and hold strategy.

From what I have seen, appraisals run on comps in the area according to three things: square footage, beds/baths, and whether the property is in 'not-good, standard, or good' condition.  

In your case, you could even consider it three places at one time.

Three days after mailing the letter, I got a text first thing today from one of the apartment owners who wants to meet on Saturday.

My goal is to refinance all three properties under one loan, while using the equity from the combined properties to purchase a fourth multifamily complex at the lake of the ozarks that I have found and meets my financial goals.I am struggling to find a lender that will participate in my plan, (I have spoken with three) most have given some type of reason why they can't participate... 1. geographically the properties are not in their territory or one is and the other isn't (KC is approximately 3.5 hours away from lake of the ozarks)2.

I compared it to three other units I could find that sold or were selling in a similar condition based on price per sqft.

I found all three companies on Angie's List and the the Quality Roofing and Construction had 18 reviews.

I've actually been investing for three years (thinking and dreaming about it for 20 years) and I only have two properties under my belt and looking for a third. 

There aren't any more quick and easy finds.The last statement, about not having the mortgage covered even by three renters, will only apply if your purchase price was too high (which is kinda related to the temperature of the market).

Richmond REIA and Richmond RING are both good places to meet like minded investors.