Now I feel more comfortable. 

I will say the only reason I felt so comfortable at the refi part, even in these times, is my renter.   

I am a long term buy and hold, and its comforting to me to know that I will have cash flow right away rather than stressing out over whether or not I will have a tenant asap.

Four of the seven would have solid cashflow and are in a growing community / region so I feel comfortable with potential for future appreciation as well.

The process is too complicated though to be streamlined for everyone to be comfortable.

Again, I'm not going to compromise the health of my tenants or put them in any situation that they don't feel comfortable with, but I'm not going to settle for extended vacancy if I don't have to, therefore, I'm looking for creative ideas to close the gap so everyone wins.

I have now 6 different quotes and my question regarding the amount was answered 3 times by 'whatever you feel comfortable with'...

If you are not comfortable renovating a property, turn-key may be the better option. 

If you were in my shoes how would y'all play this?

A 2,000 sq.ft. home with two bedrooms can fit five people more comfortably than a 500 sq.ft. apartment with two bedrooms.