I may be way-off here, but you are coming off as extremely emotional right now, and throwing a ton of different stuff on the board as it comes into your mind.I would suggest that you pause, take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, and take the time to write out a post that spells out exactly what is going on, and what guidance you are looking for.Again, I may be off-base, but that is how the posts are coming off to me.  

If you're correct in that the second house is likely to attract families, and the first house will be more likely to attract single military guys, which type of tenant would offer less turnover?

I.e. if you want to attract college tenants, you would put up flyers on campus; if you want someone from the big business in town, find someone that works there and have them put up a classified on the company intranet.

Redford seems great for getting good deals for rentals but I have flipped the two properties I bought in Livonia as there is great money to be had because of the school system, low crime and city services that buyers are attracted to.

I also suggest you check out at least one of the national lien teachers and buy training that attracts you.  

You guessed it, people realize that they missed the "window" and start lowering prices.I would say when to buy depends on the type of property you are buying and the type of tenants you want to attract.  

Hey everyone, I'm an entrepreneur and I've always been attracted to the many different facets in real estate investing, from income properties to flipping and whole selling.

In the same breath I will also say you have got to seek to create win-win situations, you can't be the only one winning in a deal it won't work.

My houses are unlikely to attract many lawyers.  

My goal is to buy SFRs under $30k, fix them up so that I can attract good, long-term renters.