be mindful that those involved in the military are provided an 'extender' on their section 121 exclusion eligibility.Depending on the appreciation on the property(if there was), you may want to consider taking advantage of section 121 as the excluded gain may be higher than the potential cash-flow that you can get on a property.

If your potential property meets the criteria than go for it.

Try looking into zillow/Redfin and see what your potential rents you can get near the neighborhood by filtering the bedrooms/bathrooms of the intentional property that you are planning to buy.

I would do whatever I could to get them out ASAP before potentially more damage and problems are caused by this group.If you get Airbnb to support you on this you need to let the guest know the stuff I mentioned in my response earlier.  

Without credit information, how can I handle potential issues like unpaid utility bills?

I may be biased since I'm and investor and Realtor in the Tri-Cities (Kingsport-Bristol-Johnson City), but the appreciation potential is very strong in this market and the price points are much lower than other the other markets you mentioned. 

Lots of young investors, good energy, easy networking.   

Given, how much time and energy I put into this - I do not want to back out of the contract and release them.

Once you've identified potential properties, schedule tours to assess them in person and address any queries.

@Colin Flynn MTR’s can work here but there are some potential limitations.