Hi Adam,I'm a licensed loan officer in 8 states.

Tenant waives any claims against the Landlord for loss, damage, or theft of personal property, regardless of the cause.

Tokyo is huge, and the difference between a SFH in central Tokyo vs any of the various outskirts can be shocking. 

Upon taking over the house again we found all our furniture ripped and broken from careless use and the side and back yard were covered with broken glass from hundreds of beer bottles being broken.

I am in the same boat of either 1031 exchange or refi some of my small multi's to purchase a larger complex.

I’m local to the area and have a few good insurance contacts that may make the difference for you. 

I'm very much of an advocate to buy if it makes sense to you, but in your case right now it might be better to sell one or both. 

In Illinois, when an agent does that, there are functions normally expected of the realtor that they are legally prohibited from doing.

Most of our owners find they don't even need a property manager.

Instead of living in an RV, I would look into house hacking in a cheaper state and starting your real estate investing journey there!