I am currently on a deployment through the national guard and am expecting to return home with about 10,000 dollars.

Do you know the current condition of all the properties major components and appliances and their life expectancy?  

PM makes or breaks out of state investing.also decent inspections of the properties prior to close and addressing major issues. not talking about an inspection report and have to do everything NO one can do that or should expect it but major systems should be all in place and functioning with nice lifetime left on them.. 

PM me and I can guide you to the right attorney based your specific needs, location, and quality of service you expect.

Since a vacancy is normally expected every 2 or 3 years max, does it mean that every 2 or 3 year, I must expect to pretty much make $0 annual profit?

-on a $74k property, expect to have a lot more maintenance issues than you budget. 

Any thoughts on what to expect for those types of policies in terms of pricing on a $120k-$150k home?

Again, you'll need a track record to get top dollar.Any investor who buys all 4 empty houses without a rental track record will expect to get a discount.  

I expected a video walk-through of a fixer-upper.

I have thought that it is asking too much to expect the seller to just wait until you find your tenant buyer, especially if he is in default of his loan.