I would also not keep the cameras when a tenant moves in, not sure if that's allowed but even if it is that would be weird and scare off people.

But, even that area has some spots that are not so great.

If I move the business and taxes to the USA through an LLC, would that be a smart move to get funding and better interest rates than Mexico's banks, even though the property is in Mexico? 

All VA, FHA and USDA loans are assumable and even a few Conventional loan products out there are assumable as well.

But if not BankofAmer, would another mortgage lender take on the 2 mortgages and blend the interest rates together based on my credit and possibly even cash flow?

HOWEVER, my question is: given our goals/strategy, when analyzing returns for potential deals on the single-family rentals, along with a relatively low cash-on-cash return of roughly 1-2% should we allow ourselves to consider/count on 1) modest appreciation growth of only 3% year over year, 2) expense increases mirroring the current CPI of 3.5% and 3) low rental upside of only 1% (or even 0% given current market conditions).For example, if a deal gives a TOTAL return of roughly 15% year over year for 10 years but only starts out at about 1% cash flow via long-term rents, is this a good idea?

Even with wholesaling that they don't want to sell using an agent you can have some agreement with a realtor.Let me know if you need any help here.

You could even try "your hot tub" and "your fully equipped kitchen" and see if that snags more guests. 

My recommended approach here: make the VA hand off anyone that is even REMOTELY interested in selling over to you.

Would even be willing to do something that is pricey if it's worth it.