We are going to sand off all of the flaking paint from the patio attached to the house and then give the 10x a shot to see how long it will last in comparison to the pain. 

It is hit or miss as to what they have in stock because they are a discount store, but they have great prices on everything in stock compared to any of the big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes.As for the kitchen cabinets go, yes it was a huge pain to refinish them!

Cash: Cash may seem great, it's real and doesn't bounce, however, it usually means you have to meet your renter in person to collect which can be a pain and it's hard to keep track of.

How does that work exactly and is it a pain to get them to cover things that break?  

Is there anyone in the NE Idaho area who is feeling my pain?

I do know however that it is best to start building out what you can in the beginning to save your self pain and liability in the future.

I've thought of having some sort of 6 month challenge where a reward would be given if no payments are missed but that may become a pain to deal with and I have a hard time justifying why I have to lose money in order to collect the agreed to rent.

I have a pretty good job, but every day I'm painfully aware of the the pace we have to operate at with our daily schedule.  

If you do sell consider lease option as you can usually ask a higher price for the property and take some of the pain out of selling for a loss.  

@Brandon Turner This would be a great topic for a podcast as it is a pain point for many newbies and veteran investors.