OR if I got short term financing for 6 months to increase income/decrease expenses and get a better value which makes a refinance possible.

My entire credit history consists of one card I've held for nine years and a second I just opened earlier this month to increase my open lines and decrease my overall utilization percentage hopefully kicking that score closer to 800 once a few payments are reported. 

However, there are many cons which make me concerned:Philadelphia, PA: population growth rate is slowing down, high crime rates, low median household income, etc.Baltimore, MD: the population is decreasing fast, high crime rates, negative home appreciation the last 10 years, etc.I have a saving about 100K - 150K to invest.

Also it decreases (albeit only slightly) the magnification of the power of leverage.  

We saw that quite often ourselves where a home would list for something like $475,000 and first price drop would be $25K then another $10K a few weeks later (and then even more price decreases depending on how far out of whack things are).  

If all your rentals in the same city, you might not pay any taxes - new properties usually drive your profit down because of current expenses (not depreciable) which is not included in the cost of the house.Another way to "decrease" your taxable income is to pay yourself a salary but then this income will get more taxes - SS, for example, which you don't pay on your sch.E income.Make a spreadsheet in Excel and put your numbers all way through including income taxes and see your cash flow model.Still better than working for W-2: it's your money making you more money.

My tenants all like the upgraded windows and the subsequent decrease in their utility bills.

I do know that he paid $400K for the property about 7 years ago but no major improvements and no maintenance have been done, it has just been 1 bandaid over another so my opinion is that he has probably actually decreased the value a bit instead of increased it.

A few times, I asked for the numbers and found the landlords were using old numbers for income and may not be reflecting that price per bedroom has decreased recently.Anyway - I think there could be good deals out there and I have no reservations of owning a student house in that area but just be careful you are not sold a cap rate or cash on cash return projection that the seller cannot prove with existing leases.

I'm also of the impression that waiting until late summer might be advantageous as the inventory typically hits its high point in the year around August and the number of buyers looking decreases.