Her lease isn't only 6 months so I'm not sure why she wouldn't just ride it out.

The tenant can skip getting his account and ride on the winter program and not pay the bill till they get caught and the pipe freeze and you have no idea if they are paying their bills as the Utility companies don't even share info on the status of the account since it is not yours as a land lord. 

Vinyl will be the cheapest option and you won't need to paint it but you will need to replace it when the next big hail storm comes through.

Ideally, I'd like my next property to be closer to work so I can ride my bike to and from work and just buy and hold this property.

@Alex Deacon I'm an OOS investor hailing from NYC. 

Enjoy the ride!

Sounds like you're going to have to ride this out, slowly pay off the credit cards, and then save up again for another property.

Hey BP,I've been riding my bike around town trying to develop an eye for distressed properties.I've been seeing some worn out roofs, holes in the wood right under the gutter, and general lack of maintenance/outdate style.In addition these things, what do people look for when driving for dollars?

That should ensure that your property is generating plenty of cash flow to ride out any short term blips.

I loaded up on 4 plexes in Montrose in '06 (about $6MM worth) riding the 12-14% appreciaition wave thinking it was never going to end.