If your new acquisition is not going to replace your cash flow you are realizing now, plus recover your costs to sell, and appreciate at atleast the same rate as your current holdings have and will, there is no economic benefit to this move.  

I need to determine the most economical way to clean this up or make it look good for buyers.  

I am looking for the latest data with home prices in my area, basically the data shown in the Federal Reserve Economic Data website (all transactions house price index).

@Gino Barbaro not sure if this would be an option for you now but maybe moving forward... look into polished concrete floors, from the flooring chart costs I've seen over time they are more economical to maintain and last 10+ years.

I'd like to reach out to a couple and ask questions about fee structure, features unique to Texas rentals, and their ideas about the future economic outlook of Abilene.

There are some really interesting economic/finance structural issues that are causing this which I find fascinating but again its cashflow play only. 

Having good cash flow properties that are debt free will help you weather upcoming economic storms as well as provide a more secure future.It all depends on whether your goals are looking for appreciation,  cash flow or a little of both ?

What do you see as the economic stabilizer that will bring back the housing prices?

Inspired by @Brian Burke's harrowing story of surviving the economic meltdown, I'd love to learn what other lesson's people gained through that time.  

Population, population growth, ease of access, resources available, population growth, unemployment, unemployment trend, job growth, job diversity, supply vs demand, median income, education level, local economic development, landlord/tenant laws, etc.And then a lot of that should not only be applied to the whole market but also the submarket/neighborhood you're looking at too.Investing anywhere is a risk vs reward, so is the return worth the risk it provides.