Looking at google bird eye view, it is not a very nice neighborhood. 

@Tyler Herman one of the units had trim painted already, so I painted over that with fresh cream colored paint to contrast the walls and look a little more fresh.

I'm in a county where 3% EMD is typical, and one county away where I also frequently do deals, $1,000 is perfectly normal (3% would make some people wide-eyed for how large it is).

I agree with Will that if insisting on tiling over the existing walls you will need to rough up what's there to ensure a good bond, definitely agree there will be lots of dust and little pieces of tile to clean up/pull out of your arms, legs and any other exposed parts of your body...be sure to protect your eyes and wear a mask!!!  

I'll keep an eye out for the meeting time and will look forward to meeting some more local investors.  

There are way too many variables inside a house that need to have eyes on the ground.

I'm currently looking for some eyes/boots on ground to take a look at properties I'm considering.

All three windows need to be the same size and as close to the same distance apart as possible -none more important than the other - you need to sort of 'bore' the eye, so you can do something to draw attention to the main event - the front door.You might have to fiddle with the details a bit but try to keep the principles in mind - focus, balance, symmetry and/or repetition - and you'll be fine.

I think the visual problem you may be having now, is with the high contrast of the smooth white window frames against the dark rough stone... it pulls your eye right to it, and there's nothing much else to grab your attention.My recommendation: First, redirect your attention to the entry/stoop.

Not sure if this is where your head is at but just want to help you go into it eyes wide open!