Prices may come down some but you still won't have that upside to sell and roll the equity over into something bigger to hit your cash flow goals.  

I know there has to be a rational explanation for why someone would sell their apartments.

What would a refi look like if I did it to fix up and immediately sell it? 

It merely needs to meet Fannie Mae's minimum guidelines for them to sell the loan to Fannie Mae.

We have thoroughly enjoyed the process of adding our personal touch to homes before selling them.

(I also wonder if this vinyl is a good selling point at least definitely over carpet I think?

One option I am trying to decide on is whether or not I should purchase the house myself as an investment property with the intention of either renting it out or fixing it up and selling it.  

I forget the name for it but it's when the owner sells the property to you directly and they basically become the "bank".

If you don't have reserves then you can be forced to sell the property to cover the costs.Managing out of state is not as tough as you think.

Generally the cream of the crops is going to be restaurant buildings that are single tenant on out parcels at anchor grocery stores, think of the taco bells, chipotles, chick filets of the world.