Kids playing, mothers pushing strollers, mowed lawns, cul-de-sacs, off major roads, little traffic (so kids can play outside), good school district, walking distance or a short drive to shopping.  

Call the power and water company to verify the units are up to date on payments.  

Hey @Yahruth Els I'll let you know the power of keyword alerts and I'll just jump in the conversation. ;) Every time someone mentions manila I'd know, you might want to check that feature out: http://biggerpockets.com/alertsAnd yes, you should visit the Philippines soon, especially Cebu!

Although with refinancing costs and seasoning periods, I don't know how quickly/efficiently this would actually play out.Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Amend the year lease to convey "kick out" powers to tenant #1?  

I shoot generally for 1% for my cash flow properties in my market (The 2% neighborhoods are too high risk for me) and my appreciation play properties might be about half a percent.

I don't think it was difficult,  but you do have to play close attention to the wording and definitely have a clear understanding of concepts. 

Sell, then buy the worst house for the lowest price (the one with the most unrealized potential, for value adding later) in your chosen area closer to work/school with your $200k deposit, and then later, go the HELOC route to BRRRR the best compromise-properties your research arrives at between distance, neighborhood appreciation play, and rent returns.

@Aaron Litzenberg Winter weather is definitley an issue, but you can also play it to your advanatage: sellers tend to get a little bit more motivated once Thanks Giving comes into sight and some banks seem to be willing to get bad assets of the books before they close the quarter and the year.

You will find some BP authors promoting 100% leverage (NOT me--I play it somewhat conservative).