Those are your options as I see them, and it will be challenging any way you slice it, as it always is in a competitive market like ours.Now for the silver lining ... once you gain the skills, experience, and capital to operate profitably in this market, the world is your oyster ... strong supply and demand cut both ways and that which is difficult to buy tends to rent or sell easily and appreciate over the long haul due to those same supply and demand forces, so just because it is difficult doesn't mean you shouldn't do it as most worth while things are difficult.

Thirdly, you could have a separate "solar electricity fee" each month, so the rent listed on your ad is competitive with neighboring listings.  

If not, we go to home depot and buy stock cabinets.Shop your competition and see what they are using.

You could look at other advertised rentals to gauge the competition to judge whether you should reinstall the ceiling fans.

Are these areas already as competitive as Portland?

I am kind of leaning towards another trade right now so I might not be a real estate investor because of the amount of competition and the internet being full of people trying to make good money by taking advantage of people looking into real estate.  

. - Your criteria is spot on with the criteria I'm looking for in Houston (sorry - looks like we both have more competition)That said, as I finalize my goals for 2017, a lot of the rental expansion is targeted for Houston and I'm really interested to see what approach you end up taking.  

And there are bad areas of the city From what I see now competition for single family houses is very stiff.  

The advantage of investing in multi-housing is that it helps you reach your investment goals faster; It enables you to purchase two or more doors with one loan generating more cash flow, there is less competition among buyers and if you purchase 5 units or more you can get a commercial loan which offers more flexibility in financing.So if, for example, your goal is to become financially independent with a specific number to help you do that, buying multi-housing can significantly reduce the time to complete that goal.

Call the popular apartments near campus for a baseline lease term and timing od "the competition".