The magic situation that you as a flipper are in a prime spot to realize is this:  if you can buy assets that generate cashflow that pays your costs of living, then your flip revenue is icing on the cake. 

Any appreciation would be the "icing on the cake".

Cant have your cake and eat it too, if you know what I mean. 

The way I see rentals is that my goal is cash flow with any appreciation being icing on the cake.  

As long as that holds up, the numbers will look much better but that'll just be icing on the cake and I don't count on it.

or walking into Cheese Cake Factory and asking what you should eat.

They want to have the cake and eat it too.

Why not have your cake and eat it too?

MF properties are selling like hot cakes today.

If it is really caked on there, you will need a scrub down and repaint (scrub down so the paint sticks).If the smell is in the ducts (assuming you have changed out the filter), then I don't know.