There might be no cashflow leftover after expenses for your share.

Luckily my wife has been saving for about 25 years and even though school now is pretty expensive we are still getting by.  

It produces beautiful expense reports by property.  

They are very expensive. 

I would say cut your expenses down to the bare minimum and pay off the student debt.

I avoid the rough areas and the expensive areas generally don't provide a good return. 

More employed people with lower expenses means they have more wiggle room to rent a nicer place.Sara also mentioned looking at whether or not new businesses or franchises have opened nearby, which is a great tip if you are looking for up-and-coming neighborhoods.

b) deposit back (though they consented to having us either sell/rent and deposit covered the properties expenses to get sold/rented...closing and other costs to sell exceeded deposit)?

Their only interest is in making money at any expense.

If you are withholding any portion of the deposit, you have to share receipts for the expense.