I would like to avoid "bad" areas with high crime and bad schools as much as possible.

The area has good schools, grocery stores and parks and lakes near it.

Do the refi, and the rest is history.  

A lot of people from there seem to be moving to Hillside, as its a bit better (area, schools).

Interested for finance or invest in any of the following:*Real Estate*Resorts*Restaurants and Food Courts*Schools Science research*Shipping Cruises & Shopping Malls* Manufacturing firms*Sports Facilities*Constructions firm*Resorts & TourismDo communicate me via email only with attached projects summary/business plan.

I went to school at ECU and now live in DC (a drastically different pace of life). 

I believe by doing so I will learn a few things that I may use when analyzing new deals.Here are the numbers:Purchase price $85,000Downpayment $17,000Improvements $26,000Current monthly escrow $665 ($150 is principal)Current monthly rent     $1,100Utilities by tenantAssumed sales price $120,000Current mortgage        $83,000 (I re-financed at 3.5%, 30-year fixed to pay off my school loan a few years ago)I've been using the latter version for how much annual profit I make on my investment, as follows:$120,000-$83,000=$37,000 (in my mind I have $37,000 locked up in the property currently, ignoring sales fees)Annual net income=12 X ($1,100-$665) = $5,220 My return on investment = $5,220 / $37,000 = 14.10%Any thoughts on this?

So your first up is to go down and take a look at your credit report, and see a mortgage broker about your ability  to borrowGo to www.upgrademycredit.com and invest in helping your credit history so that you can borrow moneyRemember that that debt to earnings ratio is the number one reason why people get denied  for mortgage, so be willing to get a second job to increase income.Start saving money every month even if it's only five or 10% of your net and put 50 to 100 bucks in.  

I transferred to a school (Eastern Oregon University, in La Grande, OR - go mountaineers!!!)

You will have some rental history on the old place, hopefully a bit of equity & they can give you a good idea of what terms they are willing to offer you, which in turn will give you some guidance on how you need to approach your next deal.Best of luck.