I can only imagine, if buying a larger complex, that you must need to wait 1 year plus to force appreciation and re-fi

If you only have SFH now, it's probably worth considering liquidating those assets and 1031 exchange into something larger.

Larger regional and national tenants often bargain for a TA  and get it since the landlord is often presented with a multi year lease - like 10 yrs with several 5 yr options.

Beyond the first few properties, I would like to invest more aggressively in larger properties and alternative financing.I have been researching real estate for the past 2 years and feel like it is finally time to put my plans into action.

Your initial impression of this tenant was correct and you were correct in getting a larger deposit and I bet you will need to use all of it before this is over.  

When I went out to inspect, found he didn't have the energy to shave and get a hair cut either.

If so, you  open  yourself up to a larger pool of candidates.

The irony is I've scaled to larger than I ever would have been able to on my own, and my net income and net worth have both increased dramatically as a result.How much did you save? 

You're buying the future cashflows of the property so a corporate signature McDonald's is going to trade for a similar CAP rate across the country, all other things equal ( term remaining, scheduled increases, NNN or Absolute, etc.)If you are looking at some kind of local single or multi tenant building, then your local market will have a larger effect to factor for likelihood of replacing a tenant should they leave.

Additionally your principal will go down every month that you have renters paying you, ie the larger your payment and larger rents is more equity paid down.