Oleanders along the fence the fence is an asset.And add some shade trees.I can’t see if the units have yards in the back but you could put up courtyards in the front for each unit with fencing of you choice it’ll add a lot of curb appeal and safety and privacy.

I'm not sure yet if it is salvageable.  

Also most of the lots back there are R10, so there is plenty of space for parking and yards.

Hey Rudi,I do a lot of rent to owns and this is how I find all of my tenants (for free):1) Put a sign in the front yard (you can hand make this it doesn't need to look fancy - use marker or whatever you want)2) Tell all the neighbors what you are doing and tell them you will let them pick their neighbor if they bring you someone that can afford it3) Join every "Buy, Sell, Trade" group on facebook for the city your property is in and post an Ad in them as well as the facebook marketplace (this is my #1 source of rent to own tenants - got me over 500+ people apply through that)4) Craigslist5) Zillow (this will post it on Zillow, Trulia and Hotpads)6) Mortgage Brokers in the city the property is located in7) If all the above fails - then either you didn't market long enough, you didn't repost the ad's weekly or your price/monthly is too high so try lowering it and re-marketing the property.I've never had a problem filling a property using these methods.

The yard being 2 acres really needs riding lawn more.

You have probably read it over and over again in the books that say get out there buy that first property but I will tell you that real estate investing is less of a 100 yard dash, and more of a marathon. 

We've purchase very modest 2/1 houses with a small yard and garage/carport and they've been pretty steady.

(yard smaller/bigger than they thought, the shower isn't big enough, bedrooms are too close to each other, etc. ) Here is my general process. - Place an ad that includes basic info about rental- Schedule multiple open house style showings - Have paper applications at open house-Have prospective tenant complete online portion of application and pay application fee-Complete various checks-Sign lease/collect deposit

As long as there isn't an issue like pets getting out of the yard, worry about the fence when you return.

Northside - Hardy Yards near I-45 and I-10 is an up and coming area.