The house has narrow staircases and it all had to be demolished to get out.

Been looking around different areas to invest in (I'm currently reading David Greene's book Long Distance Real Estate Investing) and narrowed it down to Lubbock, TX, Fayetville, NC and (this is a strong maybe) Detroit, MI. 

Recommendations and introductions may be easier when you narrow it down to a specific area.

My initial intention was to purchase D using refi money from B and C.

I can't understand your question...but, you can 1031 from investment property A into investment property B and then later convert property B into your primary residence (rules apply). 

@Moses Villarama I listened to plenty of podcasts to figure out what to look for in a market, narrowed it down to a few cities and eventually chose Indianapolis because I happen to visit periodically for work and felt a little more comfortable knowing I could see the properties every now and then.

I only know of the DEA website--if you zoom in on the map to the area of the property, it will narrow down the list below the map to just that visible area. 

Narrow your search down to the top three.

Has the neighbors than banded together to start a whisper campaign against you?

The best success you'll find in heavily regulated states will tend to be in the narrow zone of working directly with government to receive grants and benefits for taking the kind of risks that the open market will not support.