They had caught some trespassers.We have continued to upgrade our security systems as capabilities have increased and costs have decreased.  

If you stay elsewhere, consider relocating to a thriving, affordable market like Charlotte or Tampa, where you can house hack or live in a property before transitioning it to a rental.Good luck!

I love the program, as it helps many people who can't afford housing.

For starters, I recommend to begin with a single family home or if you are looking to start locally, do house hacking. 

Quote from @Roger Flot: I was reviewing some renovated listings in my area and one indicated that even though the house was originally built in 1920, because of all the renovations bringing the house to current code, that you could get 2024 rates on insurance. 

I currently have a house I am renovating that should be worth around 210k-240k and rent for $1,800 - $2,000 in May.

At this point, instead of continuing to pay the interest loan payments on properties that we will never be able to financially finish since the rehab loans will not cover the actual cost of the rehab, I wanted to know the ramifications of returning the properties to the loan servicer, deed in lieu.

This is the heart of the reason housing isn't mroe affordable, that landlords bear these types of costs every day.You could probably find cheaper labor, especially to haul away the junk, but not easily as an out of state investor. 

You could tell them to cancel the listing and you will find someone else to list it after a month not 4 months (the market take is subjective too, all dependent on what your house has compared to others, where it is located, the size of it, and so many other factors).

There’s a ton of investment pouring in, job growth, and a growing demand for housing.