Once upon a time appraisers made a decent income relative to living expenses and would do this sort of thorough research, but appraisal fees haven't been tracking with increased costs of living for some time, so it's currently a volume game for appraisers, not really a quality game.

Final question—if LLC buys a lot of furniture for properties, what is the proper way to get rid of it in 10 years if we decide to get out of the rental game?

I just know once I can get a little skin in the game and some experience gained it will start to work more in my favor.

I'm reading all of this (only about half way through) and there is nearly a dozen major violations the company I used to work for are involved in. I

Just part of the game here. 

You are creating value for the buyer--that's the name of the game.  

But options work I think in Texas they have to be short term though.I am buying a 5.5 million dollar property that i optioned in 2009  I put 200k in cash up for option money ( non refundable) and i pay 120k a year in option payments ( non refundable) but its all a credit to the purchase price.. so i have no interest carry .. on a 117 acre parcel that once it comes into the city will be worth north of 50 million.. thats how you make money in the land game.. and sellers will understand.so as it comes to hawking beat up houses.. just put 5 to 10k in option money out make your monthly option payment have it all go to the purchase price and close in 60 to 90 days when you exercise your option.... although you will want to run this model by the state regulators they still may not like you publicly marketing the property.. 

I know it will be a numbers game to find a deal.

That's a dangerous game.

So I'm changing the game plan to purchasing a single family property that is large enough for me to convert into four units.