See here a couple diagrams to help you in this quest:Asset Protection Decision Diagram - to help assess the need for asset protection, and what to implement : https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/CosIorg/file/asset-protection-decision-diagramAsset Protection Onion Diagram - what, when and at what cost one should implement in terms of asset protection - https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/CosIorg/file/asset-protection-onion-diagram-v2

This isnt true -- but with anything, convenience costs. 

The plumber who I spoke to says the pit in the picture is really big and the cost of labor plus gravel/concrete to make the pit smaller plus the cost of replacing the ejector pump is 5K.

A new city heights affordable housing project has gone up at a cost of over $800k per unit.  

Total resale is looking to be $285,000-$290,000 which leaves us with about $50,000 in net profits after lender fees, closing costs, holding costs, and minor renovations.

Here is an example: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lni-zoning-pdfs/219-139331.pdfYou can then upload this document to their Lead Cert portal (link above)Once you have your rental License:- You need to deliver to the tenant a Rental Suitability Cert.

They can vary widely and significantly impact the overall cost of homeownership.

I use RightCapital for my software and could get you a link to go in and run some numbers yourself if you think it would be helpful for you. 

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

If you like the location long term appreciation-wise, and think you may be able to raise rents and create cash flow in the near future, and aren't concerned with cash on cash return/ the opportunity cost of having money tied up in these properties as opposed to putting it to work elsewhere... maybe your main goal is just a safe place to park your money... then you might consider keeping them or even putting more money into them so that they cash flow (refinance with more down).