The upsides is that your property is professionally cleaned after every checkout, upkeep is super important as this is a business for him and broken or damaged listings don’t do well at all.

The fridge works perfectly - no damage, cleaned inside and behind on a regular basis.

We recently had our ducts cleaned by Travis at Alpine Air.

I worry that it will be hard to find good tenants because most families that need that much space either 1) already own a house, 2) can't afford such a large apartment or 3) can afford an apartment that large short term, but long term will end up inviting their extended family, etc. to live with them because they have so much space and can't make rent on their own.The only good potential type of tenant I can think of is a middle-class family that needs non-permanent housing -- e.g., professionals who are in the area for a year for work and want a large space to rent for that period.

Issues that I cleaned up myself long after he was gone. 

Because, when someone already knows they aren't getting their security deposit back, they have no motivation to clean. 

I would still classify myself as a newbie in the real estate investing world, i have 3 rentals currently, but they all came from my military days as personal owned homes that i kept and turned into rentals, i had 7 rentals at one point, but i sold off the non-performing properties as soon as i could break even on them.

Based on my income + about 70k in savings from selling non-performing properties i have been debating a few ways of going...I have been keeping an eye on MLS listings since i still hold my real estate license for the past few months and Craigslist for cash deals, but i feel the prices are just terrible right now on your typical 3/2 rental properties...Option 1: Should i keep looking for 3/2, 4/2+ under 150k deals for rentals in hopes of something popping up?

Just ran his credit, 12k in student loans and an 800 fico, clean as a whistle.   

Its tough to give a spot on answer as I don't know your credit profile, terms of the loan etc, but a 6% interest rate for a non owner occupied property may not be too expensive.