I am interested in buying it at low cost to fix it up.

Another goal in parallel is also to build a REI portfolio for my family (2 awesome siblings & my parents).I came to join Bigger Pockets in order to learn from seasoned pros, beginners, & everything else in between & possibly even work with some of you in the future.

If you have solid references and you are a seasoned, licensed general contractor we are looking for you. 

Good credit, especially when you can go OO and take advantage of the extremely low interest rates will be HUGE.#2 - A strong W2.

So 80% is on the low side. $400 to renew an existing tenant seems pretty high to me.

The economy is stagnant, and support stuff such as property management and handyman are not readily available on top of low quality tenants that comes with high churn.

Each bank has it's own rules, but if the LTV hits over 80% they could call it in, but I would not count on it as markets move over the season, so they likely need a larger move.

I have $40k in savings and very low living expenses.

Check with the "seasoning period" of the bank you wish to refinance with.

If someone offers 100% financing in the debt area (esp at a low rate) and esp if newbies are welcome its probable something is wrong.