@Ivy Liu I would probably do the cash out refi on property #1 for $200k and the property #2 for $400k and then you can use that as a down payment on a cash flowing property (or multiple) in the Midwest at a 10% CoC return to net you the income you’re looking for.

Any good property will sell with multiple offers and VA and FHA usually don 't make it to the top.

All that said, in markets with very sparse STR activity, you may not really know the actual demand.Rule of thumb: In cities with a hospital/refinery/military base with multiple chain hotels and population above 10K, there will be STR demand. 

Hello,My rental ad on Zillow rental manager did attract multiple prospective tenants but they fell under the following four categories:1) Tenants with pets2) Tenants who were bargaining a lot.3)Tenants who had weak financials but willing to pay rent inspite of their income well below 3x4) Few tenants whose profile good on surface but their phone numbers were flagged as "scam likeli"I personally am not comfortable renting to all the four categories listed above so it has delayed finding a tenant for me besides I haven't been very aggressive pursuing tenants as I had plans of selling .Now I have decided to postpone selling, what are the other best ways to find tenants quickly.

I learned a lot about project management and using multiple contractors.

I learned a lot about project management and using multiple contractors.

Oh wow, thanks for the multiple suggestions.

For those that have multiple properties, do you have LLC's or an umbrella structured or just hold all in your personal name?

I would ask multiple owners to get several referrals that you could interview more closely.  

I have arranged financing for single tenant properties in TX and FL on multiple occasions.