For financial statement purposes, your CPA may break out each property separately with the related insurance cost to show you the profitability for that particular property.  

In one particular case, the market had two tiers, one was between 10-40k for crappy properties needing rehab and a second tier showing properties from 125-175k after they had been renovated. 

(So look to their latest 'market cycle' schemes, media hype, 'fear mongering' tactics, and the prior 'bank panics' to 'stock market' and 'real estate' crashes... particularly over the past century.

I think it would've been better to have them as MFRs particularly in those housing markets.

One tip that I picked up here is while you are starting out and saving money for your investments, start driving / visiting areas you would like to invest in so you get a feel for prices, rents , house conditions etc, and visit and look at lots of homes and open houses so your eye get used to looking at repairs / upgrades that are normal in a particular market.

@Matt RosasI'm not saying that Denver is a bad place to invest, I'm just saying it's not possible to locate deals meeting my particular investment criteria. 

As none of the walls will be structural you only need enough securing to the floor to keep the walks from moving, particularly around door jams.

Just think of the yey's vs the ney's in your particular position.

I have researched the US a little and I am now interested in moving some of my investment activity to the US, particularly the Washington DC area.

Finding an agent to work with you mostly hinges on whether the agent believes working with you, and your particular strategy, will be fruitful.